|^£s5)  MAXWELL'S  ENGLISH  SERIES 


WRITING 
IN  ENGLISH 


MAXWELL 

^ 

SMITH 


NEW  YORK 

CINCINNATI    -     CHICAGO 
AMERICAN     ROOK    COMPANY 


MAXWELL'S  ENGLISH  SERIES 

WRITING    IN    ENGLISH 

A  MODERN  SCHOOL  COMPOSITION 


BY 


WILLIAM   H.    MAXWELL,    M.A.,  PH.D. 

CITY   SUPERINTENDENT    OF   SCHOOLS,    CITY   OF   NEW    YORK 
AND 

GEOKGE   J.   SMITH,  M.A.,  Pn.D. 

MEMBER   OF   THE   BOARD   OF   EXAMINERS,   CITY   OF   NEW    YORK 


NEW  YORK  .:•  CINCINNATI ...  CHICAGO 

AMERICAN    BOOK    COMPANY 


MAXWELL'S   ENGLISH   COURSE. 

FIRST    BOOK    IN    ENGLISH. 

For  Use  in  Elementary  Grades. 

INTRODUCTORY     LESSONS     IN     ENGLISH 
GRAMMAR. 

For  Use  in  Grammar  Grades. 

ADVANCED  LESSONS  IN   ENGLISH  GRAM- 
MAR. 

For    Use    in    Higher  Grammar  Classes  and 
in  High  Schools. 

WRITING   IN    ENGLISH. 

For  Use  in   Higher    Grammar   Classes  and 
in  High  Schools. 


COPYRIGHT,  1900,  BY 
W.    H.   MAXWELL. 


G/y.  -sirrrjrf.  ! 


.  -IN  J 
W.  P.  3 


PREFACE 

IT  would  doubtless  be  presumptuous  to  imagine  that 
this  book,  as  a  guide  to  the  preeminently  important  school 
subject  of  learning  to  write  English,  avoids  all  the  faults 
of  its  predecessors,  or  contains  more  than  a  portion  of 
their  merits.  But  unless  a  text-book  is  thought  to  possess 
some  definite  advantages  over  the  others  in  its  field,  it 
lias  no  excuse  for  being.  Attention  is  therefore  directed 
to  the  following  prominent  features  of  this  elementary 
treatise  on  Writing  in  English :  — 

1.  The  general  plan  of  the  development  of  the  subject 
is  noteworthy,  as  proceeding  from  the  study  and  produc- 
tion of  entire  compositions,  in  the  first  chapters,  to  the 
study  of  the  next  order  of  composition-units,  well-made 
paragraphs,  then  to  sentence-construction,  and,  at  length, 
to  the  smallest  units  of  composition,  ivords.  Since  it 
would,  however,  be  unwise  to  complete  any  one  of  these 
great  divisions  of  the  subject  before  attending  at  all  to 
the  others,  this  general  order,  while  it  is  kept  in  view 
throughout,  is  modified  as  shown  in  the  Table  of  Con- 
tents; to  which,  and  to  its  prefatory  note,  attention  is 
requested.  This  plan  is  justified  not  only  by  the  estab- 
lished principle  of  teaching  from  the  whole  to  the  parts, 
but  by  the  experience  of  all  able  instructors  in  English, 
that  nothing  is  more  certain  to  kill  a  pupil's  interest  in 
composition  than  to  compel  him  to  begin  the  subject  by 
laboring  over  the  minutiae  of  style  and  diction,  as  em- 
bodied in  rules  of  good  usage  and  exemplified  in  uncon- 

3 


4  PREFACE 

nected  sentences.  There  should  be  composition,  natural 
expression  of  connected  ideas  or  observations,  from  the 
first.  The  study  of  the  principles  of  sentence-construc- 
tion and  of  choice  of  words  should  be  made  secondary, 
because  the  pupil  does  not  perceive  the  value  of  such 
study  to  him,  until,  through  the  willing  production  of 
compositions  expressing  his  own  conceptions  of  life  and 
nature,  he  has  learned  to  feel  the  need  of  improving  him- 
self in  the  use  of  language.  Interested  observation  and 
spontaneous  thought  require  for  their  growth  an  atmos- 
phere of  freedom.  Therefore  it  is  that,  in  the  early 
study  of  composition,  we  should  aim,  not  at  a  finical  re- 
modeling of  lay-figure  sentences,  but  at  copious  and  nat- 
ural expression ;  and  should  defer  a  studied  manipulation 
of  sentences  and  of  words  until  the  student  himself  per- 
ceives the  use  of  it.  He  must  have  something  to  say 
which  he  feels  is  worth  saying  and  worth  saying  well. 
In  this,  as  in  other  concerns,  it  is  the  spirit  that  giveth 
life,  and  it  is  the  letter  that  killeth. 

2.  The  method  of  studying  models  of  good  composition 
is  prominent  in  this  book.  The  number  of  extracts  pre- 
sented from  good  authors  is  large,  and  the  character  of 
them  is  such  as  to  give  of  itself  an  interest  and  a  value 
to  the  book.  These  selections  are  used  as  models  not 
only  of  style,  but  of  composition,  —  that  is,  of  the  skill- 
fully ordered  presentation  of  ideas.  It  is,  in  fact,  as 
models  of  putting-together  (composition)  that  they  are 
first  employed ;  the  student's  attention  is  primarily  di- 
rected to  the  arrangement  of  their  parts.  Distinct  from 
this  use  and  yet  along  with  it  goes  the  employment  of 
the  selections  as  models  for  direct  imitation.  The  effective 
influence  of  imitation  in  the  molding  of  a  good  style  is 
something  that  has  been  profited  by,  in  schools,  far  too 
little.  In  support  of  it  may  be  urged  not  only  Dr.  John- 


PREFACE  5 

son's  advice,  "to  give  days  and  nights  to  the  study  of 
Addison,"  and  the  recorded  indebtedness  of  writers  no 
less  admirable  than  Irving  and  Robert  Louis  Stevenson  to 
their  conscious  imitation  of  models,  but,  in  fact,  every 
person's  unconscious  response,  in  his  own  manner  of 
writing,  to  the  style  of  the  authors  he  has  read  most  and 
with  most  attention.  The  helpfulness  of  imitation  is 
indeed  one  of  the  strongest  bonds  between  the  study  of 
literature  and  the  study  of  composition. 

'  It  may  be  well,  before  passing  to  the  next  heading,  to 
direct  attention  also  to  the  frequent  employment,  through- 
out the  book,  of  the  inductive  method  in  the  presentation 
of  new  points.  It  is  strongly  recommended  that  the 
teacher,  by  multiplying  illustrations  before  calling  for  a 
principle,  proceed  in  this  method  to  a  far  greater  extent 
than  is  possible  in  a  text-book  of  strictly  limited  size. 

3.  Particular  notice  is  directed  to  the  great  number 
and  the  practical  character  of  the  exercises  in  this  book. 
They  have  been  planned  with  great  care,  and  their  con- 
tents looked  after  no  less  sedulously  than  the  order  of 
their  progression.  It  may  fairly  be  said  that  the  exer- 
cises constitute  the  active  and  living  element  in  the  book, 
—  they  should  become,  in  the  schoolroom,  the  outward 
form,  concealing  and  vitalizing  the  skeleton-structure  of 
the  study. 

In  conclusion,  a  few  words  may  be  said  regarding  the 
use  of  this  book  by  the  teacher.  Conditions  vary  so  much 
in  the  myriad  schools  of  this  country,  especially,  perhaps, 
with  regard  to  the  study  of  English,  that  work  adapted  in 
many  schools  to  the  upper  grammar  grades  may  in  others 
be  precisely  what  is  needed  in  the  first  year  of  the  high 
school.  It  is  difficult  to  present  the  principles  of  English 
composition  simply  enough  to  meet  the  understanding 
of  children  of  grammar  grades  ;  and  in  fact  the  cardinal 


6  PREFACE 

objection  to  nearly  every  composition  text-book  designed 
for  high-school  use  is  that  it  presents  the  subject  in  a 
manner  too  dry  or  too  difficult  for  the  average  high-school 
pupil. 

Since  the  sensible  teacher  always  regards  a  text-book 
as  a  mere  instrument,  a  means  not  an  end,  he  will  feel 
free  to  omit,  in  his  use  of  any  book,  whatever  portions 
seem  either  too  difficult  or  otherwise  ill  adapted  for  his 
particular  class  of  pupils.  He  will,  further,  in  order  to 
meet  the  needs  of  his  pupils  or  to  make  the  hard-and-fast 
plan  of  a  book  flexible  in  use,  deviate  from  its  order  of 
exercises  or  even  from  its  order  of  contents,  as  may  seem 
to  him  wise  arid  good.  Thus  it  would  undoubtedly  be 
well  to  work  at  some  of  the  chapters  in  this  book  two  at 
a  time.  Work  in  the  sentence-making  chapters  (Chap- 
ters VI,  VIII,  etc.)  might  very  well  go  on  concurrently 
with  work  in  description,  narration,  or  paragraphing.  In 
fact,  the  book  will  probably  yield  the  best  results  if  used, 
to  some  extent,  in  this  way.  Nevertheless,  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  chapters  and  the  progressive  system  of  the 
exercises  are  strongly  recommended  as  a  guide,  in  a  gen- 
eral way,  to  the  natural  development  of  the  subject ;  and 
they  will,  it  is  hoped,  commend  themselves,  both  in  theory 
and  in  practice,  to  all  who  use  the  book. 


CONTENTS 


NOTE  TO  TEACHERS.  —  Attention  is  asked  to  the  remarks  in  the  Preface, 
regarding  the  plan  of  this  book.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  subject  of  compo- 
sition is  treated  here  under  the  following  divisions:  — 

(a)  Compositions,  Chapters  I,  II,  V,  VII,  XI,  XIV. 

(6)  Paragraphing,  Chapters  III,  IX. 

(c)  Sentence  work,  Chapters  IV,  VI,  VIII,  X,  XII,  XIII. 


PREFACE 


CHAPTER 

I.     KINDS  OF  COMPOSITION          .......        9 

General  Introduction  (Exercises  1-4). 
Narration,    Description,   etc.,  explained  (Exercises  5-8 
and  Lists  of  Subjects). 

II.     STUDY  OF  DESCRIPTION 17 

The  Four  Requisites  in  Good  Composition  (Exercises 

9-12). 
Planning  and  Outlining  of  Descriptions  (Exercises  13-16). 

PARAGRAPHING 37 

Topics,  Indention,  Topic  Sentences  (Exercises  17-20). 
Paragraph  Making  in  Description  (Exercises  21-25). 

IV.     UNITY  IN  SENTENCES  (Exercises  26-30)         .         .         .         .53 

V.     MORE  ABOUT  DESCRIPTION    .......       60 

Points  of  View ;  Use  of  Comparison. 
Statement  of  Effects  and  of  Sense  Impressions  (Exercises 
31-41). 

VI.     SENTENCE  FORMS   .........       75 

Kinds  of  Elements  (Exercises  42,  43). 
Kinds    of    Sentences    and    Transformations    (Exercises 
44-50). 

VII.     NARRATION 90 

Outlining  a  Narrative  (Exercises  51-56). 
Construction  of  Narratives  (Exercises  57-65). 

7 


8  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

VIII.     CLEARNESS  IN  WRITING         .         .         .         .        .         .         .111 

Lack  of  Unity  ;  Omissions  ;  Misuse  of  Pronouns  ;  Misuse 
of  "  which"  ;  Misplaced  Modifiers  (Exercises  66-71). 

IX.     CONTENTS  OF  PARAGRAPHS 121 

Particulars ;  Instances  ;  Comparisons  ;  Effects ;  Reasons 
(Exercises  72-85). 

X.     EMPHASIS  IN  WRITING  ........     143 

Forms  of  Sentences  (Exercises  86-90). 
Arrangement  of  Words  (Exercises  91-97). 
Choice  of  Words  (Exercises  98-105). 

XL     LETTER  WRITING  .  162 

Formal   Notes,   Informal   Notes  and    Letters,   Business 
Letters  (Exercises  106-112). 

XII.     FIGURES  OF  SPEECH  (Exercises  113-121)      .         .         .         .177 

XIII.  CHOICE  OF  WORDS 187 

Correctness  in  Diction  and  Syntax  (Exercises  122-128). 
Choice  in  Diction :  Use  of  Synonyms  and  of  Suggestive 
Words  (Exercises  129-136). 

XIV.  EXPOSITION  AND  ARGUMENT  .......     206 

Exposition  (Exercises  137-139). 
Argument  (Exercises  140-146). 

APPENDIX 

I.     MARKS  FOR  USE  IN  CRITICISM  OF  COMPOSITIONS          .         .     217 
II.     ENGLISH  WORDS 221 

III.  RULES  FOR  PUNCTUATION,  CAPITALIZATION,   AND  SPELLING 

(Exercises  147-149) 232 

IV.  VERSES  AND  VERSE  MAKING  (Exercises  150-153)         .         .     24,4 
V.     NOTES  ON  AUTHORS  REFERRED  TO  OR  QUOTED  IN  THIS  BOOK     259 

INDEX  267 


WRITING   IN   ENGLISH 

CHAPTER  I 

KINDS    OF    COMPOSITION 

THERE  is  hardly  anything  to  be  learned  in  school 
that  is  more  important  to  us,  all  our  lives,  than  how 
to  talk  and  write  properly  and  skillfully.  We  can 
see  one  reason  for  this,  when  we  think  how  con- 
stantly all  of  us  use  language ;  and  another  reason 
occurs  to  us,  when  we  think  why  it  is  that  we  ever 
say  anything  at  all.  We  talk  and  write  to  let  other 
people  know  what  we  have  seen  or  thought  or  done, 
or  to  tell  them  what  we  wish  them  to  do ;  and  it  is 
highly  important  to  us  that  we  accomplish  these 
purposes. 

But  suppose,  as  it  often  happens,  that  those  to 
whom  we  express  ourselves  fail  to  understand  exactly 
what  we  are  trying  to  tell  them,  or  that  they  are 
not  interested  in  what  we  have  said.  Then,  of  course, 
we  should  better  have  said  nothing.  There  is  no  use 
in  our  writing  at  all,  unless  what  we  write  has  these 
two  characteristics:  First,  others  must  be  made  to 
understand  our  meaning,  readily  and  accurately ; 
second,  what  we  say  must  be  worth  taking  care  to 
say  well ;  it  must  be  interesting. 

9 


10  WRITING   IN   ENGLISH 

Now,  in  order  that  other  persons  may  understand 
exactly  what  we  mean  to  say,  we  must  study  how  to 
form  our  sentences  in  the  best  possible  ways,  and  how 
to  put  together  our  compositions.  A  good  many  of 
the  chapters  in  this  book  tell  about  these  matters, 
which,  though  they  must  be  studied  carefully,  should 
nevertheless  be  interesting.  For  it  is  always  inter- 
esting to  learn  how  to  do  a  thing  well,  and  we  should 
learn  to  think  of  our  language  as  a  very  fine  and  a 
very  wonderful  tool  or  instrument  which  we  wish  to 
use  skillfully.  It  is  certainly  worth  much  trouble  to 
learn  that.  For  think  how  a  carpenter  tries  to  get 
skill  in  the  use  of  a  chisel,  or  how  the  musician  prac- 
tices the  playing  of  his  violin.  Language  is  an  instru- 
ment both  of  use  and  of  pleasure  ;  we  all  of  us  employ 
it  every  day  of  our  lives,  and  we  may  learn  to  get 
much  enjoyment  both  from  our  own  skillful  use  of  it, 
and  in  appreciating  the  skillful  use  of  it  by  others. 
Is  it  not  really  worth  a  great  deal  of  study  to  learn 
to  understand  the  masterly  use  of  this  instrument  ? 

Then,  as  for  interesting  others  in  what  we  say,  we 
would  give  this  rule:  The  best  way  for  you  to  be  sure 
of  interesting  others  is  to  write  about  what  really 
interests  you.  Every  one  sees  things,  bears  about 
things,  does  things  that  interest  himself.  These  are, 
for  each  one  of  us,  the  very  things  we  talk  about  or 
think  about ;  they  are  what  we  should  write  about. 

Exercise  i.  Lists  of  subjects.  —  (a)  Make  a  list  of  the 
most  interesting  things  you  have  ever  seen,  either  near 
your  home  (as  buildings,  places,  celebrations,  etc.},  or  in 


KINDS  OF  COMPOSITION  11 

school,  or  away  from  home,  (ft)  Make  a  list  of  the  most 
interesting  things  you  now  remember  that  ever  happened 
to  you  or  to  any  person  you  know  very  well  (.as  journeys, 
excursions,  outings,  accidents,  or  the  like},  (c)  Make  a 
list  of  persons  or  objects  you  have  heard  of  or  read  of  and 
would  like  to  learn  more  about. 

Exercise  2.  Written  review.  —  Write  a  short  statement 
of  what  has  already  been  said  in  this  chapter  — why  we 
make  compositions,  what  we  have  to  learn  in  studying 
composition,  what  we  should  write  about,  and  why  the 
study  is  important. 

Exercise  3.  Punctuation.  — Look  at  all  the  punctuation 
marks  so  far  used  in  this  chapter,  make  a  list  of  the 
different  marks,  and  see  if  there  are  any  places  where  a 
mark  is  used  for  no  reason  that  you  can  see.  If  so,  -find 
out  the  reason  from  Appendix  III,  or  from  some  person. 

Exercise  4.  Spelling.  —  Make  a  list  of  the  words  used 
so  far  in  this  chapter  that  you  have  sometimes  misspelled, 
or  have  known  some  one  else  to  misspell. 

Note  concerning  the  exercises.  —  Each  of  the  pupils  should 
have  a  blank  book  and  keep  in  it  all  the  exercises  which  the 
teacher  asks  the  class  or  the  individual  to  write.  The  pages  of 
the  book  should  be  numbered.  In  most  cases  the  pupil  should 
first  write  his  answer  or  exercise  on  paper  and  correct  it  all 
he  can  before  he  copies  it  into  the  book.  All  the  corrections 
made  afterward  should  be  made  in  red  ink,  so  that  the  original 
writing  can  be  easily  seen  by  the  pupil,  the  teacher,  or  any  one 
else. 

Do  not  be  afraid  that  because  of  these  corrections  the  book 
will  not  look  neat.  They  show  that  you  are  learning  something. 
Besides,  if  an  exercise  is  much  corrected,  and  if  it  is  an  impor- 
tant one,  you  can  and  should  recopy  it  neatly  in  another  part 
of  the  book,  with  all  the  improvements  and  corrections  made. 
This  should  nearly  always  be  done  when  the  exercise  is  a 


12  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

composition  that  has  been  much  corrected.  Whenever  you 
recopy  an  exercise,  write  at  the  end  of  the  original  the  words, 
"Rewritten  on  page  — ."  Reserve  a  page  or  two  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  book  for  a  table  of  contents. 

Compositions  may  be  either  written  or  oral,  but 
when  we  think  about  what  sorts  of  ideas  we  express, 
we  find  that  either  written  or  oral  composition  may 
be  of  four  kinds.  We  are  now  going  to  divide  com- 
positions according  to  what  we  say  in  them. 

The  composition  may  be  the  story  of  what  hap- 
pened to  somebody,  really  or  in  imagination;  then 
it  is  called  narration.  Story  books,  histories,  anec- 
dotes, biographies,  are  all  narratives,  because  they 
tell  in  some  regular  order  what  occurred  or  was  done 
during  a  certain  time.  How  you  spent  your  last 
holiday,  would  be  a  subject  of  this  sort.  In  the 
letters  we  write  we  often  narrate  happenings  or 
events.  There  is  at  the  end  of  this  chapter  a  short 
list  of  subjects  for  narration. 

Or  what  you  wish  to  do  may  be  to  tell  what  some 
person  or  object  or  scene  looks  like,  or  what  sort  of 
person  or  thing  it  is.  This  kind  of  composition  is 
called  description.  It  tells  the  appearance  and  quali- 
ties of  persons  or  objects.  You  can  select  many  sub- 
jects for  this  kind  of  composition  in  the  very. room 
where  you  are  sitting,  and  you  can  find  many  when- 
ever you  walk  down  the  street  or  into  the  fields. 
Some  subjects  for  description  are  given  on  page  15. 

Sometimes  we  wish  to  show  that  a  statement  is 
true,  or  that  it  is  false ;  and  then  we  write  or  talk 


KINDS  OF   COMPOSITION  13 

argument.  Of  course,  when  we  argue  the  subject 
must  always  be  a  sentence,  for  it  needs  a  sentence 
to  state  a  truth  or  an  untruth.  A  few  subjects  for 
argument  are  given  on  page  16. 

Then,  again,  we  may  wish  to  explain  a  subject 
that  interests  us  —  to  tell  all  we  know  about  it.  For 
example,  suppose  we  take  "  Pencils."  In  writing 
upon  a  subject  like  this  we  should  hardly  describe 
pencils  —  there  are  too  many  kinds,  and  most  of 
them  would  not  be  very  interesting,  for  everybody 
knows  what  pencils  look  Hke ;  we  should  not  have 
any  happening  to  tell  about,  nor  any  statement  to 
argue  about ;  but  if  we  knew,  or  could  find  out, 
how  pencils  are  made,  and  where  the  lead  comes 
from,  and  what  different  kinds  of  pencils  there  are, 
and  so  on,  we  might  give  some  interesting  informa- 
tion. Compositions  of  this  sort,  which  explain  and 
tell  all  about  a  subject,  are  called  expositions.  Most 
school  books  are  expositions.  A  list  of  subjects  for 
exposition  is  given  on  page  16. 

Of  course  these  four  kinds  of  composition  are  not 
always  kept  separate.  If  you  write  about  your  last 
railway  journey,  you  will  probably  tell  what  hap- 
pened and  also  describe  what  you  saw,  and  in  your 
writing  you  have  narration  and  description  mingled. 
Nearly  every  story  combines  these  two  kinds  of  com- 
position. In  exposition  and  in  argument,  too,  you 
will  be  very  likely  to  have  some  description  here  and 
there,  and  perhaps  some  narration.  But  it  is  better 
to  keep  the  four  kinds  of  composition  separate  in  your 


14  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

mind,  so  that  at  any  rate  you  will  know  what  you 
are  doing.  Besides,  if  we  are  to  learn  how  to  de- 
scribe, and  how  to  narrate,  and  so  on,  it  will  be  much 
easier  if,  at  first,  we  take  up  these  kinds  of  writing 
one  by  one.  So  we  shall  begin  Chapter  II  with 
description. 

Exercise  5.  Kinds  of  subjects.  —  For  what  kinds  of 
composition  are  the  following  subjects  suitable? 

1.  Flax.  2.  A  rainstorm.  3.  It  is  more  agreeable  to 
travel  by  steamboat  than  by  railroad.  4-  How  paper  is 
made.  5.  Clouds.  6.  The. dandelion.  7.  The  story  of 
the  invention  of  the  telegraph.  8.  A  morning  walk. 
9.  Our  school  building.  10.  The  life  of  a  butterfly. 

Exercise  6.  Kinds  of  subjects.  —  (a)  Taking  the  sub- 
jects you  mentioned  in  Exercise  1,  tell  for  what  kinds  of 
composition  they  are  suitable.  (&)  What  kind  of  com- 
position iv as  called  for  in  Exercise  2  ? 

Exercise  7.  Lists.of  subjects.  —  (a)  Write  three  amus- 
ing or  odd  subjects  for  description,  (b)  Write  three  sub- 
jects for  accurate,  careful  description,  (c]  Write  three 
subjects  you  have  heard  argued,  (d)  Write  three  inter- 
esting subjects  for  exposition,  suggested  by  objects  seen  at 
home  or  at  school  or  in  street  windows,  (e)  Write  three 
subjects  for  narration. 

Exercise  8.  Selections  for  copying  or  brief  paraphras- 
ing. —  (d)  Find  at  home  in  a  paper  or  magazine  or  book 
a  good,  brief  description  of  a  person  or  an  object ;  bring  it 
or  a  copy  of  it  to  school,  (b}  Find  and  copy  an  amusing  or 
an  interesting  brief  narrative,  as  an  anecdote,  (c)  Tell 
the  anecdote  to  the  class  at  school,  (d)  Find  and  copy  a 
brief  piece  of  exposition  or  explanation,  (e)  Write  a  brief 
account  of  some  argument  you  have  heard  or  read,  stating 
some  of  the  reasons  given  as  proofs. 


KINDS  OF  COMPOSITION  15 

BRIEF  LISTS  OF  SUBJECTS 

Note.  —  It  is  not  intended  that  compositions  should  be 
written  on  any  of  these  subjects  at  present.  They  are  given 
here  merely  for  further  illustration  of  the  different  kinds  of 
compositions. 

I.  Description  is  the  setting  forth  of  the  appear- 
ances and  qualities  of  .persons  or  objects. 

I.  My  dog.     2.  The  way  our  grandfathers  dressed.     3.     A 
house   fly   under    a    magnifying   glass.      4.    An   odd   visitor. 
5.  An  old-time  mansion.     6.  A  strange  old  lady.     7.  A  portrait. 
8.  A  scene  in  the  country   (a  picture).     9.  The  Angelus  (a 
picture).     10.  Our  schoolhouse  (outside  view).     11.  My  room 
at  home.     12.  A  secondhand  bookstore.     13.  A  striking  show 
window.     14.  The  first  railway  train.     15.  The  fire  last  Thurs- 
day night.     16.  An  old  piece  of  furniture.     17.  A  certain  tree. 
18.  View  in  the  park.     19.   What   I  heard  and  saw  in  the 
woods.     20.  A  successful  newsboy. 

II.  Narration  is  the  setting  forth  in  some  intended 
order  of  real  or  imaginary  connected  happenings. 

1.  An  incident  observed  in  a  street  car.  2.  Account  of  a 
ball  game.  3.  The  events  of  a  Saturday  excursion.  4.  My 
last  railway  journey.  5.  The  story  of  a  poor  boy.  6.  How 
Ethel  helped  support  her  mother.  7.  An  amusing  incident. 
8.  A  trip  by  water.  9.  A  ghost  story.  10.  A  theft,  and  how 
the  thief  was  caught.  11.  How  I  spent  my  Christmas  vacation. 
12.  An  unpleasant  evening.  13.  A  ramble  down  Broadway. 
14.  The  adventures  of  a  lucky  boy.  15.  The  life  of  William 
Shakspere.  16.  The  story  of  coal.  17.  The  history  of  the 
adoption  of  our  national  flag.  18.  The  future  histories  of 
our  classmates.  19.  A  hunting  adventure.  20.  A  day  on  the 
farm. 


16  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

III.  Exposition,  or  explanatory  composition,  is  the 
setting  forth  of  the  nature  and  relations  of  a  substance, 
a  class  of  objects,  or  an  idea. 

1.  How  food  is  digested.  2.  Earthworms.  3.  How  base- 
ball is  played.  4.  Birds  of  prey.  5.  Why  spring  conies. 

6.  The  value  of  geography.     7.  What  is  courage?     8.  How  a 
boat  is  sailed.     9.  The  making  of  a  book.     10.  An  education 
for     business     life.      11.  Timepieces.      12.  Precious     stones. 
13.  How  paper  is  made.     14.  How  a  knight  was   educated. 
15.  The  circulation  of  the  blood. 

IY.  Argument  is  the  setting  forth  of  proofs  or  dis- 
proofs of  a  proposition,  and  the  overthrowing  of  proofs 
offered  by  ones  opponents. 

1.  Arithmetic  is  less  useful  than  geography.  2.  Should  the 
law  forbid  the  sale  of  intoxicating  drinks?  3.  The  United 
States  should  not  retain  the  Philippines.  4.  Athletics  in  school 
should  be  encouraged.  5.  Capital  punishment  should  not  be 
used. .  6.  Does  higher  education  fit  one  for  business  life  ? 

7.  Should  education  be  compulsory?     8.  Is  war  ever  right? 
9.  Lowell  was  a  greater  poet  than  Longfellow.     10.  It  is  some- 
times wise  for  workmen  to  strike. 


CHAPTER   II 

STUDY    OF    DESCKIPT1ON 

WHAT  is  the  object  in  writing  descriptions  ?  When 
we  understand  what  people  write  descriptions  for,  we 
may  learn  in  what  respects  we  need  skill,  or  what 
things  we  must  see  to  when  we  write.  Our  aim  in 
describing  anything  is  to  let  others  know  how  it 
impresses  us  —  what  it  is,  as  we  see  it  —  and  to 
•cause  others  to  see  it  in  imagination,  and  to  feel 
about  it  as  we  do.  Now  we  cannot  possibly  tell  all 
there  is  to  be  observed  in  even  a  small  object.  For 
instance,  we  could  not  clearly  tell  in  words  about  all 
the  spots  and  markings,  the  colors,  and  the  exact 
shape  in  minutest  detail,  of  a  single  apple.  When 
we  describe  anything,  therefore,  we  must  select  only 
those  points  that  seem  to  us  worth  mentioning,  the 
things  that  strike  us  and  that  we  wish  our  readers  to 
see  and  feel.  We  must  also  keep  to  the  subject,  so  as 
to  avoid  confusing  our  readers ;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  must  not  leave  out  anything  that  ought 
to  be  mentioned.  Finally,  we  must  arrange  the  points 
of  our  description  skillfully,  so  as  to  make  what  we 
say  interesting,  and  so  as  to  produce  on  our  readers  a 
clear  impression. 

WRIT.    IN    ENG.  2  17 


18  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

In  good  descriptions,  therefore  (and  the  same  is 
true  of  all  good  compositions  and,  indeed,  of  all  good 
works  of  art),  will  be  found  these  four  qualities : 
1,  skillful  selection;  2,  unity;  3,  completeness;  4,  plan. 

Selection  implies  that  the  writer  has  a  purpose  in 
view,  and  that  he  chooses,  from  all  that  he  might 
mention,  those  particular  points  that  are  interesting 
and  important  for  his  purpose.  This  purpose  may 
be  merely  to  give  full  and  accurate  information  (as 
in  the  description  of  the  starfish  on  page  30) ;  or  it 
may  be  to  entertain ;  or,  more  usually,  it  is  to  produce 
an  emotional  effect  upon  the  reader,  that  is,  to  cause 
the  reader  to  feel  as  the  writer  wishes  him  to  feel. 

Unity  requires  that  the  writer  shall  not  wander 
from  his  subject ;  that  is,  that  he  shall  not  bring  in 
anything  which  is  foreign  to  the  subject.  If  you 
were  describing  a  house,  and  should  break  off  in  the 
midst  of  your  description,  to  tell  of  some  events  that 
happened  in  the  house,  perhaps  years  before,  you 
would  be  forgetting  the  principle  of  unity.  Unity 
means  oneness ;  each  composition  must  be  a  well- 
made  whole. 

Completeness  requires  that  nothing  necessary  or 
important  be  omitted.  If  you  were  describing  a 
man's  face,  and  should  say  nothing  of  his  eyes  or 
of  his  expression,  your  description  would  lack  com- 
pleteness. 

The  requirement  of  plan  simply  means  that  a  writer 
must  say  what  he  has  to  say,  in  some  well-thought- 
out  order  or  arrangement  of  the  parts.  Plan  is  fully 


STUDY  OF   DESCRIPTION  19 

as  important  as  selection,  unity,  or  completeness,  and 
we  shall  have  to  study  very  carefully  how  to  plan 
well  all  that  we  write. 

Now  let  us  read  and  consider  the  following  descrip- 
tion of  a  scene  in  a  court  room.  In  London,  the 
judge  (called  here  the  "Lord  Chancellor")  and  the 
lawyers  (called  "  gentlemen  of  the  bar  ")  wear  gray 
wigs  and  silken  gowns.  This  description  was  written 
by  Charles  Dickens  :  — 

The  High  Court  of  Chancery.     (From  Bleak  House,  by  Charles 
Dickens,  Ch.  XXIV.) 

When  we  came  to  the  Court,  there  was  the  Lord  Chancellor 
sitting  in  great  state  and  gravity,  on  the  bench,  with  the 
mace  and  seals  on  a  red  table  below  him,  and  an  immense 
flat  nosegay,  like  a  little  garden,  which  scented  the  whole 

2  Court.     Below  the  table,  again,  was  a  long  row  of  solici- 
tors, with  bundles  of  papers  on  the  matting  at  their  feet ; 
and  then  there  were  the  gentlemen  of  the  bar  in  wigs  and 
gowns  —  some  awake  and  some  asleep,  and  one  talking  and 

3  no  one  paying  much  attention  to  what  he  said.     The  Lord 
Chancellor  leaned  back  in  his  very  easy  chair,  with  his 
elbow  on  the  cushioned  arm,  and  his  forehead  resting  on  his 
hand ;  some  of  those  who  were  present  dozed ;    some  read 
the  newspapers ;  some  walked  about,  or  whispered  in  groups  : 
all  seemed  perfectly  at  their  ease,  by  no  means  in  a  hurry, 
very  unconcerned,  and  extremely  comfortable. 

Now  mark,  in  the  first  place,  that  Dickens  by  no 
means  tells  all  that  he  might  have  told  about  this 
court  scene.  There  were,  no  doubt,  many  details  to 
be  seen  that  he  does  not  mention.  You  could  not, 
from  this  description,  form  an  entirely  clear  mental 


20  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

picture  of  the  place,  or  make  a  plan  or  map  of  the 
court  room.  He  selects  the  points  that  suit  his  pur- 
pose. This  purpose  is  to  make  you  feel  what  an  indif- 
ferent, unfeeling,  machinelike  thing  the  court  was. 
The  care  and  worry  and  sorrow  of  the  persons  whose 
affairs  were  disposed  of  there,  seemed  to  be  nothing 
to  those  drowsy  and  extremely  comfortable  officials. 

In  the  second  place,  the  description  is  a  unit ;  not 
one  thing  is  mentioned  that  has  not  to  do  with  the 
scene  described. 

In  the  third  place,  this  description,  though  brief, 
is  complete  enough  to  include  all  that  helps  out  the 
purpose  in  view.  There  we  see  the  persons  present, 
how  they  are  placed  in  the  room,  and  what  they  are 
all  doing;  and  we  see  the  most  striking  objects  in 
the  room,  the  easy  chair  of  the  Chancellor,  the  table, 
the  mace 1  and  the  seals,  the  newspapers,  the  lawyers' 
papers,  and  the  bouquet. 

Finally,  the  plan  of  the  description  is  very  clear 
and  excellent.  Our  attention  is  first  directed  to 
the  figure  a  visitor  would  naturally  observe,  in  the 
first  glance,  that  of  the  presiding  judge,  the  Lord 
Chancellor.  The  first  sentence  describes  briefly  the 
general  appearance  of  the  Chancellor,  and  tells  of 
the  objects  near  him.  The  other  persons  present  are 
then  mentioned,  with  their  surroundings  (sentence  2). 
Then  the  third  sentence  tells  what  the  various  per- 
sons present,  from  the  Lord  Chancellor  down,  are 
doing.  The  plan  might  be  stated  thus :  - 

1  Look  up  "mace "  in  the  dictionary. 


STUDY  OF   DESCRIPTION  21 

1.  Situation  of  the  persons  and  objects  observed. 

2.  Occupations  of  the  persons. 

Exercise  9.     Study  of  the  qualities  of  descriptions.  - 

(a)  In  a  similar  ivay  study  the  following  descriptions 
with  regard  to  their  selected  details,  their  unity,  their 
completeness,  and  their  plan.  (1}  As~k  yourself  what  the 
general  impression  is  that  the  writer  wishes  to  produce, 
and  note  the  points  selected  for  the  purpose;  (2}  note 
whether  the  writer  keeps  to  the  business  in  hand  and 
avoids  speaking  of  things  that  have  no  sufficient  con- 
nection with  the  subject;  (3}  note  whether  each  descrip- 
tion mentions  everything  we  should  naturally  wish  to 
know  about  the  subject;  and  (4)  note  whether  there  is  a 
well-defined  plan.  (6)  Then  write  down  the  subjects  of 
the  parts  of  each  description,  in  the  order  in  which  the 
parts  appear. 

The  Kitchen  of  an  English  Inn.     (From  The  Sketch  Book,  by 
Washington  Irving ;  paper  on  The  Stage  Coach.) 

As  we  drove  into  the  great  gateway  of  the  inn,  I  saw  on 
one  side  the  light  of  a  rousing  kitchen  fire  beaming  through  a 
window.  I  entered  and  admired,  for  the  hundredth  time,  that 
picture  of  convenience,  neatness,  and  broad  honest  enjoyment, 
the  kitchen  of  an  English  inn.  It  was  of  spacious  dimensions, 
hung  round  with  copper  and  tin  vessels  highly  polished,  and 
decorated  here  and  there  with  a  Christmas  green.  Hams, 
tongues,  and  flitches  of  bacon  were  suspended  from  the  ceil- 
ing; a  smokejack  made  its  ceaseless  clanking  beside  the  fire- 
place, and  a  clock  ticked  in  one  corner.  A  well-scoured  deal 
table  extended  along  one  side  of  the  kitchen,  with  a  cold  round 
of  beef  and  other  hearty  viands  upon  it,  over  which  two  foam- 
ing tankards  of  ale  seemed  mounting  guard.  Travelers  of 
inferior  order  were  preparing  to  attack  this  stout  repast,  while 
others  sat  smoking  and  gossiping  over  their  ale  on  two  high- 


22  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

backed  oaken  settles  beside  the  fire.  Trim  housemaids  were 
hurrying  backward  and  forward  under  the  directions  of  a  fresh, 
bustling  landlady;  but  still  seizing  an  occasional  moment  to 
exchange  a  flippant  word  and  have  a  rallying  laugh  with  the 
group  round  the  fire. 

Holders  House  after  the  Rains.     (From   Without  Benefit  of 
Clergy,  by  Rudyard  Kipling.) 

He  found  that  the  rains  had  torn  down  the  mud  pillars  of 
the  gateway,  and  the  heavy  wooden  gate  that  had  guarded  his 
life  hung  drunkenly  from  one  hinge.  There  was  grass  three 
inches  high  in  the  courtyard ;  Pir  Khan's  lodge  was  empty, 
and  the  sodden  thatch  sagged  between  the  beams.  A  gray 
squirrel  was  in  possession  of  the  veranda,  as  if  the  house 
had  been  untenanted  for  thirty  years  instead  of  three  days. 
Ameera's  mother  had  removed  everything  except  some  mil- 
dewed matting.  The  tick-tick  of  the  little  scorpions  as  they 
hurried  across  the  floor  was  the  only  sound  in  the  house. 
Ameera's  room  and  that  other  one  where  Tota  had  lived  were 
heavy  with  mildew ;  and  the  narrow  staircase  leading  to  the 
roof  was  streaked  and  stained  with  rain-borne  mud.  Holden 
saw  all  these  things  and  came  out  again. 

Jo.     (From  Little  Women,  by  Miss  L.  M.  Alcott,  Ch.  I.  'Little, 
Brown,  and  Company,  by  permission.) 

Fifteen-year  old  Jo  was  very  tall,  thin,  and  brown,  and  re- 
minded one  of  a  colt ;  for  she  never  seemed  to  know  what  to 
do  with  her  long  limbs,  which  were  very  much  in  her  way. 
She  had  a  decided  mouth,  a  comical  nose,  and  sharp,  gray  eyes, 
which  appeared  to  see  everything,  and  were  by  turns  fierce, 
funny,  or  thoughtful.  Her  long,  thick  hair  was  her  one  beauty; 
but  it  was  usually  bundled  into  a  net  to  be  out  of  her  way. 
Bound  shoulders  had  Jo,  big  hands  and  feet,  a  fly-away  look 
to  her  clothes,  and  the  uncomfortable  appearance  of  a  girl  who 
was  rapidly  shooting  up  into  a  woman,  and  didn't  like  it. 


STUDY   OF   DESCRIPTION  23 

Exercise  10.  Reproductions.  —  (a)  Read  over  again, 
carefully,  twice,  Irving' s  description  of  the  big  kitchen 
of  the  inn;  then  take  your  list  (see  Exercise  9,  b}  of 
points  mentioned  in  the  several  sentences,  and  write  out 
from  memory  what  Irving  says.1  In  doing  this,  try  to 
Iceep  very  close  to  his  ivay  of  writing,  imitate  his  choice 
of  words  and  his  formation  of  sentences.  See  how 
nearly  like  Irving  you  can  write.  (#)  Give  the  same 
description  orally. 

Exercise  n.  Imitation  of  model. — Now  select  some 
similar  subject  for  description,  a  scene  in  a  restaurant, 
or  a  hotel,  or  a  sitting  room,  with  a  number  of  people 
in  it,  variously  occupied.  Then,  with  Irving's  descrip- 
tion open  before  you,  write  your  description,  as  nearly 
as  possible  in  the  manner  of  Irving. 

1  Although  the  rules  for  the  use  of  capitals  and  of  punctuation  marks 
are  given  in  the  appendix,  a  few  of  the  most  important  are  printed  here, 
to  serve  as  a  reminder  :  — 

Capitals  should  be  used  to  mark  — 

The  first  word  of  a  sentence,  or  of  a  line  of  poetry. 

The  first  word  of  a  somewhat  long  quotation  ;  as,  John  replied,  "  The 

man  then,  after,"  etc. 
Proper  names,  titles,  names  of  the  Deity. 
The  pronoun  I,  and  the  interjections  O,  Oh. 

Periods  should  be  used  to  mark  — 

The  close  of  all  sentences,  except  direct  questions  (?)  or  exclamatory 

sentences  (!). 
Abbreviations;  as,  T.  A.  Kerley,  M.D.;  Mon.,  Aug.  7,  etc. 

Commas  mark  most  of  the  natural  pauses  in  sentences,  and  are  used  par- 
ticularly — 

After  nouns  of  address  ;  as,  John,  come  here. 
After  words  in  a  list  or  series,  where  "  and  "  or  "  or  "  is  omitted. 
Before  and  after  explanatory  or  thrown-in  words,  phrases,  or  clauses. 

The  pupil  should  avoid  using  slang  words.     If  there  is  any  doubt  as  to  a 
word's  being  good  English,  look  it  up  in  the  dictionary. 


24  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

Exercise  12.  Imitation  of  model.  —  Take  for  a  subject 
some  old  ruined  or  deserted  house,  or  a  shanty ;  study 
carefully  Mr.  Kipling's  description  of  H olden' s  house; 
note  the  plan;  then  write  an  imitation  of  his  descrip- 
tion, but  using  your  own  subject. 

Now  a  further  study  of  the  descriptions  already 
given  will  help  us  in  learning  hoiv  to  plan  our  own 
compositions. 

We  observe  first  that  in  beginning  the  description 
each  of  the  writers  quoted  tells  us  what  first  catches 
the  attention,  gives  us,  as  it  were,  the  effect  of  a 
single  glance.  Then  he  goes  on  to  mention  the 
important  details  in  some  regular  order.  To  have 
a  regular  order,  he  must  group  the  details  under 
well-marked  divisions.  Now,  to  see  to  these  matters 
properly,  we  must  think  out  our  plan  beforehand. 
To  have  a  good  plan  in  a  description  or  in  any 
other  kind  of  composition  is  very  important ;  there 
can  be  no  excellent  description  without  it.  Most 
persons  cannot  make  good  plans  for  their  composi- 
tions while  they  are  writing ;  the  plan  should  always 
be  made  beforehand.  No  builder  would  set  to  work 
on  a  house  till  the  plan  was  decided  upon ;  so  no 
good  writing  can  be  done  without  a  similar  atten- 
tion to  plan.  Writing  down  the  scheme  or  plan  of 
a  composition  is  called  outlining.  To  make  out- 
lines before  writing  not  only  leads  us  to  form  a  good 
plan,  but  it  helps  us  to  secure  both  completeness 
and  unity  in  the  points  selected  for  our  composition. 

The  study  of  the  descriptions  already  given  may 


STUDY   OF   DESCRIPTION  25 

teach  us  the  following  points  about  the  outlining  of 
descriptions :  — 

1.  We  may  or  may  not  have  an  introduction  to  our 
description.     In  the  selections  given   from  Dickens 
and  from  Mr.  Kipling  the  description  begins  at  once. 
In  the  selection  from  Irving  the  first  sentence  may 
be  called  introductory;    it  is  the  second  that  takes 
us  with  the  writer  into  the  inn  kitchen. 

2.  The  description  begins  with  a  glance;  what  would 
be  naturally  noticed  first  of  all  is  mentioned  first  and 
briefly,  with  a  statement  of  the  impression  it  makes. 

Thus  the  glance  view  strikes,  as  it  were,  the  key- 
note of  the  whole  description. 

3.  In  the  detailed  description  which  follows,  and 
which  makes  up  most  of  the  body  of  the  description, 
the  writer  proceeds  according  to  some  definite  plan 
by  means  of  dividing  the  subject  into  parts  or  fea- 
tures, arranging  these  in  what  seems  the  best  order, 
and  then  giving  such   details  or  particulars  under 
each  division  as  aid  in  producing  the  effect  desired. 

This  is  illustrated  in  the  following  selection  :  — 

Description  of  Bleak  House.    (From  Bleak  House,  by  Charles 
Dickens,  Ch.  VI.) 

1  It  was  one  of  those  delightfully  irregular  houses  where 
you  go  up  and  down  steps  out  of  one  room  into  another,  and 
where  you  coine  upon  more  rooms  when  you  think  you  have 
seen  all  there  are,  and  where  there  is  a  bountiful  provision 
of  little  halls  and  passages,  and  where  you  find  still  older 
cottage  rooms  in  unexpected  places,  with  lattice  windows 

2  and  green  growth  pressing  through  them.      Mine,  which 
we  entered  first,  was  of  this  kind,  with  an  up-and-down  roof, 


26  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

that  had  more  corners  in  it  than  I  ever  counted  afterward, 
and  a  chimney  (there  was  a  wood  fire  on  the  hearth),  paved 
all  around  with  pure  white  tiles,  in  every  one  of  which  a 

3  bright  miniature  of  the  fire  was  blazing.     Out  of  this  room 
you  went  down  two  steps,  into  a  charming  little  sitting  room, 

4  looking  down  upon  a  flower  garden.     Out  of  this  you  went 
up  three  steps  into  Ada's  bedroom,  which  had  a  fine  broad 

5  window,  commanding  a  beautiful  view.     Out  of  this  room, 
you  passed  into  a  little  gallery  with  which  the  other  best 
rooms  (only  two)  communicated,  and  so,  by  a  little  stair- 

6  case  of  shallow  steps,  down  into  the  hall.     But  if,  instead 
of  going  out  at  Ada's  door,  you  came  back  into  my  room, 
and  went  out  at  the  door  by  which  you  had  entered  it, 
and   turned   up  a  few   crooked   steps   that   turned   off   in 
an  unexpected  manner  from  the  stairs,  you  lost  yourself 
in   passages,   with   mangles    in   them,    and    three-cornered 
tables,  and  a  Native-Hindoo  chair,  which  was  also  a  sofa, 
a  box,  and  a  bedstead,  and  looked  in  every  form  something 
between  a  bamboo  skeleton  and  a  great  bird  cage,  and  had 
been  brought  from  India  nobody  knew  by  whom  or  when. 

7  From  there  you  came  on  Richard's  room,  which  was  part 
library,  part  sitting  room,  part  bedroom,  and  seemed  indeed 

8  a  comfortable  compound  of  many  rooms.     Out  of  that  you 
went  straight,  with  a  little  interval  of  passage,  to  the  plain 
room  where  Mr.  Jarndyce  slept,  all  the  year  round,  with 
his  window  open,  his  bedstead  without  any  furniture  stand- 
ing in  the  middle  of  the  floor  for  more  air,  and  his  cold  bath 

9  gaping  for  him  in  a  smaller  room  adjoining.     Out  of  that, 
you  came  into  another  passage  where  there  were  back  stairs, 
and  where  you  could  hear  the  horses  being  rubbed  down, 
outside  the  stable,  and  being  told  to  Hold  up,  and  Get  over, 
as   they  slipped   about  very  much  on  the   uneven   stones. 

10  Or  you  might,  if  you  came  out  at  another  door  (every  room 
had  at  least  two  doors),  go  straight  down  to  the  hall  again 
by  half  a  dozen  steps  and  a  low  archway,  wondering  how 
you  ever  got  back,  or  had  ever  got  out  of  it. 


STUDY  OF  DESCRIPTION  27 

The  plan  of  this  description  may  be  expressed  in 
the  following  outline^:  — 

I.  Glance  —  Delightful  irregularity  of  Bleak  House, 
illustrated  in  its  arrangement  of  rooms  and 
passages 

II.    Detailed  description 

a.  The  first  circuit  to  the  hall 

1.  My  room 

a.  Its  roof 

b.  The  fireplace 

2.  The  sitting  room,  how  you  reached  it, 

and  what  you  saw  from  its  window 

3.  Ada's  bedroom 

4.  The  gallery  and  stairway  to  the  hall 

b.  The  second  circuit 

1.  The  passages  from  the  other  side  of  my 

room 

a.  Mangles  and  tables 

b.  The  Indian  chair 

2.  Richard's  room 

3.  Mr.  Jarndyce's  bedroom 

a.  Open  window 

b.  Bedstead 

c.  Cold  bath 

4.  Passage  near  the  stable 

a.  Stairs 

b.  Stable  sounds  heard 

5.  Stairway  to  the  hall 


28  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

Let  us  now  take  a  description  of  a  person,  and 
outline  it :  — 

Description  of  Mr.  Hyde.     (From  Dr.  Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde,  by 
Robert  Louis  Stevenson,  p.  58.) 

I  had  never  set  eyes  on  him  before,"  so  much  was  certain. 
He  was  small,  as  I  have  said ;  I  was  struck  besides  with  the 
shocking  expression  of  his  face,  with  his  remarkable  combina- 
tion of  great  muscular  activity  and  great  apparent  debility  of 
constitution. 

This  person  (who  had,  from  the  first  moment  of 'his  entrance, 
struck  in  me  what  I  can  only  describe  as  a  disgustful  curiosity) 
was  dressed  in  a  fashion  that  would  have  made  an  ordinary 
person  laughable ;  his  clothes,  that  is  to  say,  although  they 
were  of  rich  and  sober  fabric,  were  enormously  too  large  for 
him  in  every  measurement, — the  trousers  hanging  on  his  legs 
and  rolled  up  to  keep  them  from  the  ground,  the  waist  of  the 
coat  below  his  haunches,  and  the  collar  sprawling  wide  upon  his 
shoulders.  Strange  to  relate,  this  ludicrous  accouterment  was 
far  from  moving  me  to  laughter.  Rather,  as  there  was  some- 
thing abnormal  and  misbegotten  in  the  very  essence  of  the 
creature  that  now  faced  me  —  something  seizing,  surprising, 
and  revolting  —  this  fresh  disparity  seemed  but  to  fit  in  with 
and  to  reinforce  it;  so  that  to  my  interest  in  the  man's 
nature  and  character  there  was  added  a  curiosity  as  to  his 
origin,  his  life,  his  fortune,  and  status  in  the  world. 

I.   Glance 

a.  The  man's  strangeness  to  me 

b.  Stature 

c.  Expression  of  face 

cL    Bodily  characteristics 


STUDY  OF   DESCRIPTION  29 

II.    Detailed  description 

a.   The  man's  clothes 

1.  Quality  of  material 

2.  Size 

trousers 
coat 

1}.    Impression  made  by  the  man 

1.  Sense  of  surprise  and  revolt 

2.  Sense  of  curiosity 

Exercise  13.  Outlining  of  description. — In  a  similar 
manner  make  written  outlines  of  the  following  descrip- 
tions:— 

Description   of  David  Gamut     (From    The   Last   of  the   Mo- 
hicans, by  James  Fenimore  Cooper,  Cli.  I.) 

The  person  of  this  individual  was  to  the  last  degree  un- 
gainly, without  being  in  any  particular  manner  deformed. 
He  had  all  the  bones  and  joints  of  other  men,  without  any  of 
their  proportions.  .  .  .  His  head  was  large;  his  shoulders 
narrow;  his  arms  long  and  dangling,  while  his  hands  were 
small,  if  not  delicate.  His  legs  and  thighs  were  thin,  nearly  to 
emaciation,  but  of  extraordinary  length;  and  his  knees  would 
have  been  considered  tremendous  had  they  not  been  outdone 
by  his  feet.  The  ill-assorted  and  injudicious  attire  of  the  in- 
dividual only  served  to  render  his  awkwardness  more  con- 
spicuous. A  sky-blue  coat,  with  short  and  broad  skirts  and 
low  cape,  exposed  a  long  thin  neck  and  longer  and  thinner 
legs.  His  nether  garment  was  of  yellow  nankeen,  closely 
fitted  to  the  shape,  and  tied  at  his  bunches  of  knees  with  large 
knots  of  white  ribbon,  a  good  deal  sullied  by  use.  Clouded 
cotton  stockings,  and  shoes,  on  one  of  the  latter  of  which  was 


30  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

a  plated  spur,  completed  the  costume  of  the  lower  extremity 
of  this  figure.  From  beneath  the  flap  of  an  enormous  pocket 
of  a  soiled  vest  of  embossed  silk,  heavily  ornamented  with 
tarnished  silver  lace,  projected  his  musical  instrument.  A 
large  civil  cocked  hat,  like  those  worn  by  clergymen  within 
the  last  thirty  years,  surmounted  the  whole,  furnishing  dignity 
to  a  good-natured  and  somewhat  vacant  countenance. 

Description  of  the  Starfish.     (From  Life  on  the  Seashore,  by 

J.  H.  Emerton,  p.  59.) 

The  starfishes  are  among  the  most  peculiar  animals  of  the 
seashore,  and  belong  to  a  class,  the  Echirioderms,  others  of  which 
live  on  land  or  in  fresh  water.  The  common  starfishes  live 
near  low  'water  mark,  coining  above  it  occasionally,  and  in 
winter  retreating  to  deep  water.  They  live  on  mollusks,  and 
are  a  great  nuisance  to  the  oyster  growers.  They  fold  them- 
selves around  an  oyster  or  mussel,  turn  their  stomach  out  of 
their  mouth  and  in  between  the  shells  of  the  bivalve  and 
digest  it  without  taking  it  inside  their  bodies.  The  starfishes 
move  by  suckers  in  the  fine  grooves  on  the  under  side  of  their 
arms.  To  bring  them  into  use  they  have  to  be  filled  with  water 
from  the  water  tubes,  which  receive  their  supply  from  the 
porous  colored  spot  on 'the  back  of  the  starfish  and  carry  it 
through  all  the  arms,  giving  off  a  branch  to  each  sucker. 

The  skin  of  the  starfish  is  filled  with  little  hard  plates  and 
from  it  project  spines  of  various  shapes.  These  spines  have, 
around  the  base,  clusters,  of  little  organs  which  have  jaws  that 
open  and  shut,  for  no  apparent  purpose  unless  to  prevent  dirt 
from  sticking  to  the  skin.  At  the  end  of  each  arm  is  an  eye. 

Description  of  a  Street  Pageant.     (From  Varia,  by  Agnes  Rep- 
plier,  p.  114.     Houghton,  Minim,  and  Company,  by  permis- 
sion. ) 
Suddenly  there  came  the  sound  of  drums  playing  a  gay  and 

martial  air,  and  in  another  minute,  surrounded  by  a  clamorous 

mob,  the  Sire  de  Gayant  and  his  family  moved  slowly  into 

sight. 


STUDY  OF   DESCRIPTION  31 

Thirty  feet  high  was  the  Sire  de  Gay  ant,  and  his  nodding 
plumes  overtopped  the  humble  roofs  by  which  he  passed. 
His  steel  breastplate  glittered  in  the  evening  sun ;  his  mighty 
mace  looked  like  a  May-pole ;  his  countenance  was  grave  and 
stern.  The  human  pygmies  by  his  side  betrayed  their  insignifi- 
cance at  every  step.  They  ran  backward  and  forward,  making 
all  the  foolish  noises  they  could.  They  rode  on  hobby-horses. 
They  played  ridiculous  antics.  They  were  but  children,  after 
all,  gamboling  irresponsibly  at  the  feet  of  their  own  Titanic 
toy.  Behind  the  Sire  de  Gayant  came  his  wife,  in  brocaded 
gown,  with  imposing  farthingale  and  stomacher.  Pearls 
wreathed  her  hair  and  fell  on  her  massive  bosom.  Earrings 
a  handbreadth  in  size  hung  from  her  ears,  and  a  fan  as  big  as 
a  fire  screen  was  held  lightly  by  a  silver  chain.  Like  Lady 
Corysande,  "her  approaching  mien  was  full  of  majesty;"  yet 
she  looked  affable  and  condescending,  too,  as  befitted  a  dame 
of  parts  and  noble  birth.  Her  children  manifested  in  their 
bearing  more  of  pride  and  less  of  dignity.  There  was  even 
something  theatrical  in  the  velvet  cap  and  swinging  cloak  of 
her  only  son ;  and  Mademoiselle  Gayant  held  her  head  erect  in 
conscious  complacency,  while  her  long  brown  ringlets  fluttered 
in  the  breeze. 

Happily,  however,  there  was  still  another  member  of  this 
ancient  family,  more  popular  and  more  well  beloved  than  all 
the  rest,  Mademoiselle  Therese,  "  la  petite  Binbin,"  who  for  two 
hundred  years  has  been  the  friend  and  idol  of  every  child  in 
Douai.  A  sprightly  and  attractive  little  girl  was  Mademoiselle 
Therese,  barely  eight  feet  high,  and  wearing  a  round  cap  and 
spotless  pinafore.  In  her  hand  she  carried  a  paper  windmill. 
She  ran  hither  and  thither  with  uncertain  footsteps,  pausing 
now  and  then  to  curtsy  prettily  to  some  admiring  friends  in  a 
doorway ;  and  whenever  the  pressure  of  the  crowd  stopped  her 
progress,  the  little  children  clamored  to  be  held  up  in  their 
fathers'  arms  to  kiss  her  round,  smooth  cheeks.  One  by  one 
they  were  lifted  in  the  air,  and  one  by  one  I  saw  them  put 
their  arms  around  la  Binbin's  neck,  and  embrace  her  so 


A  VIKING 


STUDY  OF  DESCRIPTION  33 

heartily  that  I  wondered  how  she  kept  herself  clean  and  un- 
crumpled  amid  these  manifold  caresses. 

Description  of  the  Mansion  of  Tally- Veolan,  from   the   inner 
courtyard.     (From  Scott's  Waverley,  Ch.  VIII.) 

The  house,  which  seemed  to  consist  of  two  or  three  high, 
narrow,  and  steep-roofed  buildings,  projecting  from  each 
other  at  right  angles,  formed  one  side  of  the  inclosure.  It 
had  been  built  at  a  period  when  castles  were  no  longer 
necessary,  and  when  the  Scottish  architects  had  not  yet  ac- 
quired the  art  of  designing  a  domestic  residence.  The  win- 
dows were  numberless,  but  very  small;  the  roof  had  some 
nondescript  kind  of  projections,  called  bartizans,  and  displayed 
at  each  frequent  angle  a  small  turret,  rather  resembling  a 
pepper  box  than  a  Gothic  watchtower.  Neither  did  the  front 
indicate  absolute  security  from  danger.  There  were  loopholes 
for  musketry,  and  iron  stanchions  on  the  lower  windows,  prob- 
ably to  repel  any  roving  band  of  gypsies.  .  .  .  Stables  and  other 
offices  occupied  another  side  of  the  square.  The  former  were 
low  vaults,  with  narrow  slits  instead  of  windows.  .  .  .  Above 
these  dungeon-looking  stables  were  granaries,  called  girnels, 
and  other  offices,  to  which  there  was  access  by  outside  stairs 
of  heavy  masonry.  Two  battlemented  walls,  one  of  which 
faced  the  avenue,  and  the  other  divided  the  court  from  the 
garden,  completed  the  inclosure. 

The  Burning  of  Rome,  A.  D.  64.      (From   The  Early  Days  of 
Christianity,  by  Canon  F.  W.  Farrar,  Book  I,  Ch.  IV.) 

But  the  sense  of  permanent  loss  was  overwhelmed  at  first  by 
the  immediate  confusion  and  agony  of  the  scene.  Amid  the 
sheets  of  flame  that  roared  on  every  side  under  their  dense 
canopy  of  smoke,  the  shrieks  of  terrified  women  and  the  wail 
of  infants  and  children  were  heard  above  the  crash  of  falling 
houses.  The  incendiary  fires  seemed  to  be  bursting  forth  in  so 
many  directions,  that  men  stood  staring  in  stupefaction  at  the 
destruction  of  their  property  or  rushed  hither  and  thither  in 

WRIT.    IN    ENG. 3 


34  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

helpless  amazement.  The  lanes  and  valleys  were  blocked  up 
with  the  concourse  of  struggling  fugitives.  Many  were  suffo- 
cated by  the  smoke,  or  trampled  down  in  the  press.  Many 
others  were  burnt  to  death  in  their  own  burning  houses,  some 
of  whom  purposely  flung  themselves  into  the  flames  in  the 
depth  of  their  despair.  The  density  of  the  population  that 
found  shelter  in  the  huge  many-storied  lodging  houses  in- 
creased the  difficulty  of  escape ;  and  when  they  had  escaped 
with  bare  life,  a  vast  multitude  of  homeless,  shivering,  hungry 
human  beings  —  many  of  them  bereaved  of  their  nearest  and 
dearest  relatives,  many  of  them  personally  injured,  and  most  of 
them  deprived  of  their  possessions,  and  destitute  of  the  means 
of  subsistence  —  found  themselves  huddled  together  in  vacant 
places  in  one  vast  brotherhood  of  hopeless  wretchedness. 

Exercise  14.  Description  from  picture. — Observe  the 
picture  of  the  Viking  ( page  32}  carefully,  make  a  brief 
but  well- arranged  list  of  the  points  in  it  that  should  be 
mentioned,  then  write  the  description  after  the  manner 
of  Cooper's  description  of  David  Gamut. 

Exercise  15.  Description  from  picture.  —  After  observ- 
ing carefully  what  is  represented  in  the  picture  on 
page  35,  prepare  an  outline  for  a  description  of  it,  then 
describe  it,  orally  or  in  writing,  from  your  outline. 

Exercise  16.  Outline  and  original  description.  —  (a) Bring 
into  the  class  an  outline  for  a  description,  by  yourself, 
of  some  person  seen  on  the  street,  or  elsewhere.  Select  a 
more  or  less  peculiar-looking  person,  whom  you  may  see 
and  observe  before  working  up  your  description.  De- 
scriptions from  memory  are  apt  to  be  vague  and  scanty, 
or  else  inaccurate. 

(&)  Write  the  description  of  the  person,  following  the 
outline  made.  This  outline  should  already  be  in.  the 
exercise  book.  When  writing  the  composition,  leave  a 
margin  of  one  inch  at  the  left. 


\    ••"•         '• 


36  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

Note  to  teachers.  —  All  the  written  exercises  of  the  pupils 
should  be  inspected  at  intervals  by  the  teacher,  and  a  certain 
proportion  of  the  original  compositions  should  be  carefully  read 
and  criticised  by  the  teacher,  who  should  note  in  the  margin 
the  points  wherein  the  pupil  is  to  correct  or  improve.  There 
is  a  list  of  marks  for  criticism  given  in  Appendix  I.  The 
teacher  will  at  first  have  to  use  only  such  marks  of  criticism 
as  the  pupils  are  ready  to  profit  by.  As  the  study  contin- 
ues, more  and  more  of  the  marks  may  be  employed.  The 
compositions  that  have  been  criticised  by  the  teacher  should 
be  corrected  by  the  pupil  in  red  ink,  between  the  lines,  and 
then  shown  again  to  the  teacher.  If  the  changes  made  are 
satisfactory,  and  the  composition  is  an  important  one,  it  should 
be  rewritten  in  the  same  book. 

An  important  aim  with  the  teacher,  however,  should  be  to 
teach  each  pupil  to  criticise  and  improve  his  own  work.  As 
the  study  advances,  the  pupil  should  become  more  and  more 
able,  by  the  help  of  the  text-book  and  the  instructions  of  the 
teacher,  to  criticise  his  own  writing  with  certainty,  correctness, 
and  even  pleasure.  Of  course  the  points  in  which  the  pupil  is 
to  criticise  his  work  should  at  first  be  few  and  simple.  They 
may  progressively  increase  in  number  and  difficulty,  but  the 
teacher  should  always  afford  the  pupils  in  this  all  possible 
guidance  and  assistance.  Nor  can  the  teacher's  own  direct 
criticism  of  some  proportion  of  the  compositions  ever  be  en- 
tirely dispensed  with,  though  the  ideal  to  be  worked  toward 
is  the  pupil's  well-instructed  but  independent  and  self-helping 
criticism. 


CHAPTER   III 

PARAGRAPHING 

WHEN  we  write  descriptions,  or  other  compositions 
of  considerable  length,  they  are  often  or  generally 
clearer  and  easier  to  read  if  in  some  way  it  is  made 
plain  where  one  part  or  division  ends  and  the  next 
begins.  For  this  reason,  compositions  are  almost 
always  divided  into  parts  or  sections  called  para- 
graphs. The  beginning  of  a  paragraph  is  marked 
by  placing  the  first  word  of  it  a  little  to  the  right  of 
where  the  lines  of  writing  or  print  regularly  begin. 
This  setting  of  a  word  to  the  right  of  the  other  first 
words  of  the  lines  is  called  indention.  The  word 
"  when "  at  the  beginning  of  this  paragraph  is  in- 
dented. If  you  turn  to  page  12  in  this  book,  you  will 
see  the  paragraphs  all  marked  by  indentions.  The 
words  "The,"  "  Or/'  "Sometimes,"  "Then,"  and  so 
on,  are  indented,  because  they  begin  new  paragraphs. 

Now,  since  each  paragraph  stands  for  a  distinct 
part  of  the  plan  of  a  composition,  it  has  a  distinct 
subject  of  its  own.  This  subject  is  called  the  topic 
of  the  paragraph. 

In  the  following  description  there  are,  as  the  inden- 
tions show,  five  paragraphs.  The  topics  of  them  may 
be  stated  and  subdivided  thus :  — 

37 


38  WRITING   IN   ENGLISH 

1.  The  scene  in  the  garret  (including  "introduc- 

tion "  and  "  glance  ") 

a.  Dimness  of  the  place  (introduction) 

b.  The  white-haired  shoemaker  (glance  view) 

2.  The  old  man's  voice 

3.  His  appearance 

a.  Tools,  etc.,  about  him 

b.  His  face 

white  beard  and  hair 
hollow  cheeks 
unnaturally  bright  eyes 

c.  His  clothing 

shirt 

other  garments 

4.  Special  features  of  the  man 

a.  His  thin  hands 

b.  His  vacant  gaze 

c.  His  habit  of  wandering  in  attention 

5.  His  absent-mindedness 

a.  Unconscious  movements 

b.  Difficulty  of  arousing  him 

The  Shoemaker  of  the  Bastille.     (From  A  Tale  of  Two  Cities, 
by  Charles  Dickens,  Ch.  VI.) 

The  garret,  built  to  be  a  dry  depository  for  firewood  and  the 
like,  was  dim  and  dark.  Such  a  scanty  portion  of  light  was 
admitted,  that  it  was  difficult,  on  first  coming  in,  to  see  any- 
thing. Yet,  with  his  back  toward  the  door,  and  his  face 
toward  the  window,  a  white-haired  man  sat  on  a  low  bench, 
stooping  forward  and  very  busy,  making  shoes. 


PARAGRAPHING  39 

When  he  spoke  the  faintness  of  the  voice  was  pitiable  and 
dreadful.  It  was  not  the  faintness  of  physical  weakness,  though 
confinement  and  hard  fare  no  doubt  had  their  part  in  it.  Its 
deplorable  peculiarity  was,  that  it  was  the  faintness  of  solitude 
and  disuse.  It  was  like  the  last  feeble  echo  of  a  sound  made 
long  and  long  ago. 

The  half -opened  door  was  opened  a  little  farther  and  secured 
at  that  angle  for  the  time.  A  broad  ray  of  light  fell  into  the 
garret,  and  showed  the  workman,  with  an  unfinished  shoe  upon 
his  lap,  pausing  in  his  labor.  His  few  common  tools  and  vari- 
ous scraps  of  leather  were  at  his  feet  on  his  bench.  He  had  a 
white  beard,  raggedly  cut,  but  not  very  long,  a  hollow  face,  and 
exceedingly  bright  eyes.  The  hollowness  and  thinness  of  his 
face  would  have  caused  them  to  look  large,  under  his  yet  dark 
eyebrows  and  his  confused  white  hair,  though  they  had  been 
really  otherwise;  but  they  were  naturally  large,  and  looked 
unnaturally  so.  His  yellow  rags  of  shirt  lay  open  at  the  throat, 
and  showed  his  body  to  be  withered  and  worn.  He.  and  his 
old  canvas  frock,  and  his  loose  stockings,  and  all  his  poor  tat- 
ters of  clothes,  had,  in  a  long  seclusion  from  direct  light  and 
air,  faded  down  to  such  a  dull  uniformity  of  parchment  yellow, 
that  it  would  have  been  hard  to  say  which  was  which. 

He  had  put  up  a  hand  between  his  eyes  and  the  light,  and 
the  very  bones  of  it  seemed  transparent.  So  he  sat,  with  a 
steadfastly  vacant  gaze,  pausing  in  his  work.  He  never  looked 
at  the  figure  before  him,  without  first  looking  down  on  this  side 
of  himself,  then  on  that,  as  if  he  had  lost  the  habit  of  associ- 
ating place  with  sound ;  he  never  spoke,  without  first  wander- 
ing in  this  manner,  and  forgetting  to  speak. 

Now  that  he  had  no  work  to  hold,  he  laid  the  knuckles  of 
the  right  hand  in  the  hollow  of  the  left,  and  then  the  knuckles 
of  the  left  hand  in  the  hollow  of  the  right,  and  then  passed  a 
hand  across  his  bearded  chin,  and  so  on,  in  regular  changes,  with- 
out a  moment's  intermission.  The  task  of  recalling  him  from 
the  vacancy  into  which  he  always  sank  when  he  had  spoken, 
was  like  recalling  some  very  weak  person  from  a  swoon,  or 


40  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

endeavoring,  in  the  hope  of  some  disclosure,  to  stay  the  spirit 
of  a  fast-dying  man. 

A  study  of  these,  or  of  any  well-constructed  para- 
graphs, will  show  that  paragraphs,  like  whole  compo- 
sitions, must  have  riot  only  well-selected  details,  but 
also  completeness,  unity,  and  plan. 

The  planning  of  paragraphs  we  shall  study  later 
(Chapter  VIII) ;  but  that  a  paragraph  should  be 
complete,  and  that  it  should  be  a  unit,  are  points 
already  clear,  because  each  paragraph  has  its  own 
subject  or  topic.  The  outline  above  given  states  the 
five  topics  in  the  last  selection.  If,  in  this  selection, 
the  writer  had,  in  the  second  paragraph,  which  treats 
of  the  old  man's  voice,  described  in  part  his  clothing, 
this  paragraph  would  have  lacked  the  unity  it  now 
has.  Every  sentence  in  that  paragraph  relates  to  the 
voice  which  is  being  described.  Or  if,  in  the  next 
paragraph,  any  important  or  striking  detail,  neces- 
sary to  a  clear  and  vivid  picture  of  the  old  man's  ap- 
pearance, had  been  omitted,  that  paragraph  would 
have  lacked  completeness.  Unity  and  completeness,  in 
compositions  and  in  paragraphs,  seem  perhaps  very 
simple  and  plain  matters  to  be  spoken  of  so  much, 
but  careless  and  uninstructed  writers  so  often  fail  to 
think  of  these  qualities  and  to  secure  them,  that  their 
importance  must  be  insisted  upon  frequently. 

A  carefully  written  piece  of  composition  may  always 
be  outlined,  paragraph  by  paragraph,  much  as  the 
selection  just  given  was  outlined ;  and  all  school 
compositions  should  be  so  outlined  before  being  writ- 


PARAGRAPHING  41 

ten.  The  pupil  by  thus  working  out  his  plan  or 
order  of  topics  secures  himself  against  omission  of  im- 
portant points,  and  against  wandering  from  his  topics 
while  writing  (secures  for  his  composition  complete- 
ness and  unity).  He  will  then  write  his  composition 
with  the  outline  before  him,  and  his  paragraphing  will 
follow  the  topical  outline.  Whenever  a  writer  finishes 
what  he  has  to  say  on  one  topic  of  the  outline,  he 
should  begin  a  new  paragraph  for  the  next  topic,  and 
mark  the  beginning  by  indention. 

Thoughtless  or  ignorant  writers,  forgetting  that 
each  paragraph  must  have  unity,  often  indent  incor- 
rectly. In  the  following  selections,  as  printed  here, 
the  indentions  are  irregular  and  misleading. 

Tlie  Battle  of  the  Blue  Licks.  (From  Tlie  Choir  Invisible, 
by  James  Lane  Allen,  p.  67.  Copyright,  1897,.  by  The 
Macmillan  Company.) 

Let  the  creek  here  be  the  Licking  River.  The  Kentuckians, 
some  on  foot  and  some  on  horse,  but  all  tired  and  disordered 
and  hurrying  along,  had  just  reached  the  bank.  Over  on  the 
other  side  —  some  distance  back  —  the  Indians  were  hiding  in 
the  woods  and  waiting.  No  one  knew  exactly  where  they  were ; 
every  one  knew  they  counted  from  seven  hundred  to  a  thousand. 
The  Kentuckians  were  a  hundred  and  eighty-two. 

There  was  Boone  with  the  famous  Boonsborough  men,  the 
very  name  of  whom  was  a  terror ;  there  was  Trigg  with  men 
just  as  good  from  Harrodsburg ;  there  was  Todd,  as  good  as 
either,  with  men  from  Lexington.  More  than  a  fourth  of  the 
whole  were  commissioned  officers,  and  more  fearless  men  never 
faced  an  enemy.  There  was  but  one  among  them  whose  cour- 
age had  ever  been  doubted,  and  do  you  know  what  that  man 
did  ?  After  the  Kentuckians  had  crossed  the  river  to  attack, 


42  WRITING   IN   ENGLISH 

been  overpowered,  forced  back  to  the  river  again,  and  were 
being  shot  down  or  cut  down  in  the  river  like  helpless  cattle, 
that  man  —  his  name  was  Benjamin  Netherland —  did  this: 
He  was  finely  mounted.  He  had  quickly  recrossed  the  river 
and  had  before  him  the  open  buffalo  trace  leading  back  home. 
About  twenty  other  men  had  crossed  as  quickly  as  he  and  were 
urging  their  horses  toward  this  road. 

But  Netherland,  having  reached  the  other  bank,  wheeled 
his  horse's  head  toward  the  front  of  the  battle,  shouted  and 
rallied  the  others,  and  sitting  there  in  full  view  and  easy  reach 
of  the  Indian  army  across  the  narrow  river,  poured  his  volley 
into  the  foremost  of  the  pursuers,  who  were  cutting  down  the 
Kentuckians  in  the  river.  He  covered  their  retreat. 

He  saved  their  lives.  Yet  when  some  twenty  of  the  officers 
had  come  out  before  the  ranks  to  hold  a  council  of  war,  and  the 
wisest  and  the  oldest  were  urging  caution  or  delay,  one  of  them 
—  McGary  —  suddenly  waved  his  hand  in  the  air,  spurred  his 
horse  into  the  river,  and  shouted,  "Let  all  who  are  not  cow- 
ards follow  me ! " 

They  all  followed;  and  then  followed  also  the  shame  of 
defeat,  the  awful  massacre,  the  sorrow  that  lasts  among  us  still, 
and  the  loss  to  Kentucky  of  many  a  gallant  young  life  that 
had  helped  to  shape  her  destiny  in  the  nation. 

(From  The  Man  who  Was,  by  Eudyard  Kipling.) 

The  great  beam-roofed  mess  room  of  the  White  Hussars  was 
a  sight  to  be  remembered. 

All  the  mess  plate  was  on  the  long  table, —  the  same  table 
that  had  served  up  the  bodies  of  five  dead  officers  in  a  forgot- 
ten fight  long  and  long  ago,  —  the  dingy,  battered  standards 
faced  the  door  of  entrance,  clumps  of  winter  roses  lay  between 
the  silver  candlesticks,  the  portraits  of  eminent  officers  looked 
down  on  their  successors  from  between  the  heads  of  sambhur, 
nilghai,  maikhor,  and,  pride  of  all  the  mess,  two  grinning  snow 
leopards  that  had  cost  Basset-Hoi  mer  four  months'  leave  that 
he  might  have  spent  in  England  instead  of  on  the  road  to  Thi- 


PARAGRAPHING  43 

bet,  and  the  daily  risk  of  his  life  on  ledge,  snow  slide,  and 
glassy  grass  slope.  The  servants,  in  spotless  white  muslin  and 
the  crest  of  their  regiments  on  the  brow  of  their  turbans, 
waited  behind  their  masters,  who  were  clad  in  the  scarlet  and 
gold  of  the  White  Hussars  and  the  cream  and  silver  of  the 
Lushkar  Light  Horse. 

Dirkovitch's  dull  green  uniform  was  the  only  dark  spot  at 
the  board,  but  his  big  onyx  eyes  made  up  for  it. 

Exercise  17.  Indention. — Write  the  words  that  should 
be  indented  in  the  above  selections,  and  be  able  to  give 
reasons  for  the  indentions  as  you  think  they  should  be. 

Exercise  18.  Paragraph  topics.  —  Write  the  topics  of 
the  paragraphs  in  the  above  selections,  after  the  inden- 
tion has  been  corrected. 

There  is  usually  in  a  paragraph  one  sentence  which 
states  or  suggests  the  topic  of  that  paragraph.  This 
is  called  the  topic  sentence.  It  usually  appears  at  or 
near  the  beginning  of  the  paragraph,  but  sometimes 
at  the  end.  The  purpose  of  the  topic  sentence  is  to 
tell  clearly  and  simply  what  is  the  subject  of  the 
paragraph.  Thus  it  shows  the  unity  of  the  paragraph 
either  by  preparing  the  reader  for  what  is  to  be  said, 
or  by  summing  up  what  has  been  said. 

In  the  following  paragraphs  the  topics  are  printed 
as  titles,  or  headings,  and  the  topic  sentences  are 
printed  in  italics. 

A  Room  and  its  Occupant.     (From  Bleak  House,  by  Charles 
Dickens,  Ch.  X.) 

The  character  of  the  room 

The  air  of  the  room  is  almost  bad  enough  to  have  extin- 
guished the  candle.  It  is  a  small  room,  nearly  black  with  soot, 


44  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

and  grease,  and  dirt.  In  the  rusty  skeleton  of  a  grate,  pinched 
at  the  middle  as  if  Poverty  had  gripped  it,  a  red  coke  fire 
burns  low.  In  the  corner,  by  the  chimney,  stand  a  deal  table 
and  a  broken  desk ;  a  wilderness  marked  with  a  rain  of  ink. 
In  another  corner  a  ragged  old  portmanteau,  on  one  of  the  two 
chairs,  serves  for  cabinet  or  wardrobe :  no  larger  one  is  needed, 
for  it  collapses  like  the  cheeks  of  a  starved  man.  The  floor 
is  bare ;  except  that  one  old  mat,  trodden  to  shreds  of  rope 
yarn,  lies  perishing  npon  the  hearth.  No  curtain  veils  the 
darkness  of  the  night,  but  the  discolored  shutters  are  drawn 
together;  and  through  the  two  gaunt  holes  pierced  in  them, 
famine  might  be  staring  in  —  the  Banshee  of  the  man  upon  the 
bed. 

The  occupant  of  the  room 

For,  on  a  low  bed  opposite  the  fire,  a  confusion  of  dirty 
patchwork,  lean-ribbed  ticking,  and  coarse  sacking,  the  visitor, 
hesitating  just  within  the  doorway,  sees  a  man.  He  lies  there, 
dressed  in  a  shirt  and  trousers,  with  bare  feet.  He  has  a  yel- 
low look  in  the  spectral  darkness  of  a  candle  that  has  guttered 
down,  until  the  whole  length  of  its  wick  (still  burning)  had 
doubled  over  and  left  a  tower  of  winding  sheet  above  it.  His 
hair  was  ragged,  mingling  with  his  whiskers  and  his  beard  — 
the  latter,  ragged  too,  and  grown  like  the  scum  and  mist 
around  him,  in  neglect.  Foul  and  filthy  as  the  room  is,  foul 
and  filthy  as  the  air  is,  it  is  not  easy  to  perceive  what  fumes 
those  are  which  most  oppress  the  senses  in  it;  but  through  the 
general  sickliness  and  faintness,  and  the  odor  of  stale  tobacco, 
there  comes  into  the  visitor's  mouth  the  bitter,  vapid  taste  of 
opium. 

Burns  in  Edinburgh.     (From  Familiar   Studies   of  Men  and 
Books,  by  Robert  Louis  Stevenson,  p.  77.) 

He  was  now,  it  must  be  remembered,  twenty-seven  years  of 
age ;  he  had  fought  since  his  childhood  an  obstinate  battle 
against  poor  soil,  bad  seed,  and  inclement  seasons,  wading  deep 
in  Ayrshire  mosses,  guiding  the  plow  in  the  furrow,  wielding 


PARAGRAPHING  45 

"the  thresher's  weary  flingin'  tree " ;  and  his  education,  his 
diet,  and  his  pleasures  had  been  those  of  a  Scotch  countryman. 
Now  he  stepped  forth  suddenly  among  the  polite  and  learned. 
We  can  see  him  as  he  then  was,  in  his  boots  and  buckskins, 
his  blue  coat  and  waistcoat  striped  with  buff  and  blue,  like  a 
fanner  in  his  Sunday  best ;  the  heavy  plowman's  figure  firmly 
planted  on  its  burly  legs ;  his  face  full  of  sense  and  shrewdness, 
and  with  a  somewhat  melancholy  air  of  thought,  and  his  large 
dark  eye  "literally  glowing"  as  he  spoke.  "I  never  saw  such 
another  eye  in  a  human  head,"  says  Walter  Scott,  "though  I 
have  seen  the  most  distinguished  men  of  my  time." 

Exercise  19.  Topics  and  topic  sentences. — Bring  to 
class,  in  writing,  a  statement  of  the  "topics"  in  the 
following  paragraphs,  also  the  "  topic  sentences  "  copied 
out. 

(From   Dr.  Jekyll  and   Mr.  Hyde,  by  Eobert   Louis   Steven- 
son, p.  8.) 

It  chanced  on  one  of  these  rambles  that  their  way  led  them 
down  a  by-street  in  the  busy  quarter  of  London.  The  street 
was  small  and  what  is  called  quiet,  but  it  drove  a  thriving 
trade  on  the  week  days.  The  inhabitants  were  all  doing  well, 
it  seemed,  and  all  emulously  hoping  to  do  better  still,  and  lay- 
ing out  the  surplus  of  their  gains  in  coquetry ;  so  that  the  shop 
fronts  stood  along  the  thoroughfare  with  an  air  of  invitation, 
like  rows  of  smiling  saleswomen.  Even  on  Sunday,  when  it 
veiled  its  more  florid  charms  and  lay  comparatively  empty  of 
passage,  the  street  shone  out  in  contrast  to  its  dingy  neighbor- 
hood, like  a  fire  in  a  forest;  and  with  its  freshly  painted 
shutters,  well-polished  brasses,  and  general  cleanliness  and 
gayety  of  note,  instantly  caught  and  pleased  the  eye  of  the 
passenger. 

Two  doors  from  one  corner,  on  the  left  hand  going  east,  the 
line  was  broken  by  the  entry  of  a  court;  and  just  at  that  point 
a  certain  sinister  block  of  building  thrust  forward  its  gable 


46  WRITING   IN   ENGLISH 

on  the  street.  It  was  two  stories  high;  showed  no  window, 
nothing  but  a  door  on  the  lower  story  and  a  blind  forehead  of 
discolored  wall  on  the  upper,  and  bore  in  every  feature  the 
marks  of  prolonged  and  sordid  negligence.  The  door,  which 
was  equipped  with  neither  bell  nor  knocker,  was  blistered  and 
distained.  Tramps  slouched  into  the  recess,  and  struck  matches 
on  the  panels ;  children  kept  shop  upon  the  steps ;  the  school- 
boy had  tried  his  knife  on  the  moldings ;  and  for  close  on  a 
generation  no  one  had  appeared  to  drive  away  these  random 
visitors  or  to  repair  their  ravages. 

(Hamlin  Garland,  in  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal,  August,  1899 
By  permission.) 

Koweechee  was  a  most  wonderful  mountain.  It  sprang  from 
the  lowlands  of  dark  green  hills,  covered  with  pines  as  with  a 
robe,  and  it  reached  to  a  dazzling  dome  of  snow  two  miles 
above  the  valley  where  the  Angry  River  roared.  Every  line  was 
noble,  sweeping,  regal,  and  the  summit  burned  under  the  noon 
sunlight  with  unearthly  radiance,  and  glowed  and  lightened 
till  it  seemed  as  if  the  sky  and  snow  were  one.  As  the  sun 
sank  to  the  west,  Koweechee  amplified  and  glorified  like  some 
mighty  orator  stepping  before  a  countless  multitude  of  men. 
He  loomed  over  the  tall  pines  and  intervening  hills  with  inex- 
pressible grandeur — it  would  seem  that  nothing  more  remained 
of  majesty  to  express  —  and  when  the  sun  went  down  and  the 
stars  came  out  behind  his  awful  crown,  then  the  lone  traveler, 
crouching  close  beside  his  camp  fire,  lifted  his  eyes  timidly  and 
whispered,  "  Lord,  I  adore !  " 

(From  Dr.  Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde,  by  Robert  Louis  Stevenson, 
p.  27.) 

It  was  by  this  about  nine  in  the  morning,  and  the  first  fog  of 
the  season.  A  great  chocolate-colored  pall  lowered  over  heaven, 
but  the  wind  was  continually  changing  and  routing  these  em- 
battled vapors  ;  so  that  as  the  cab  crawled  from  street  to  street 
Mr.  Utterson  beheld  a  marvelous  number  of  degrees  and  hues 


PARAGRAPHING  47 

of  twilight;  for  here  it  would  be  dark,  like  the  black  end 
of  evening ;  and  there  would  be  a  glow  of  rich,  lurid  brown, 
like  the  light  of  some  strange  conflagration ;  and  here,  for  a 
moment,  the  fog  would  be  quite  broken  up,  and  a  haggard 
shaft  of  daylight  would  glance  in  between  the  swirling  wreaths. 
The  dismal  quarter  of  Soho  seen  under  these  changing  glimpses, 
with  its  muddy  ways,  and  slatternly  passengers,  and  its 
lamps,  which  had  never  been  extinguished  or  had  been  kindled 
afresh  to  combat  this  reinvasion  of  darkness,  seemed  like  a 
district  of  some  city  in  a  nightmare. 

% 

(From  TJie  Sketch  Book,  by  Washington  Irving.) 

Suddenly  the  notes  of  the  deep-laboring  organ  burst  upon 
the  ear,  falling  with  doubled  and  redoubled  intensity,  and 
rolling,  as  it  were,  huge  billows  of  sound.  How  well  do  their 
volume  and  grandeur  accord  with  this  mighty  building !  With 
what  pomp  do  they  swell  through  its  vast  vaults,  and  breathe 
their  awful  harmony  through  these  caves  of  death,  and  make 
the  silent  sepulcher  vocal !  And  now  they  rise  in  triumph  and 
acclamation,  heaving  higher  and  higher  their  accordant  notes, 
and  piling  sound  on  sound.  And  now  they  pause,  and  the  soft 
voices  of  the  choir  break  out  into  sweet  gushes  of  melody; 
they  soar  aloft,  and  warble  along  the  roof,  and  seem  to  play 
about  these  lofty  vaults  like  the  pure  airs  of  heaven.  Again 
the  pealing  organ  heaves  its  thrilling  thunders,  compressing 
air  into  music,  and  rolling  it  forth  upon  the  soul.  What  long- 
drawn  cadences  !  What  solemn,  sweeping  concords !  It  grows 
more  and  more  dense  and  powerful  — it  fills  the  vast  pile  and 
seems  to  jar  the  very  walls  —  the  ear  is  stunned  —  the  senses 
are  overwhelmed.  And  now  it  is  winding  up  in  full  jubilee  — 
it  is  rising  from  earth  to  heaven  —  the  very  soul  seems  rapt 
away  and  floated  upward  on  this  swelling  tide  of  harmony ! 

Exercise  20.  Topics  and  topic  sentences.  —  Write  out  the 
topics  and  topic  sentences  of  such  others  of  the  para- 
graphs printed  elsewhere  as  the  teacher  may  select. 


48  WRITING   IN   ENGLISH 

Note  to  teachers.  —  When  completed,  the  following  exer- 
cises, as  well  as  many  of  the  others,  might  be  placed  upon  the 
blackboard,  read,  and  criticised  during  the  recitation  period. 

Exercise  21.  Arrangement  of  sentences  in  paragraphs. 
EXAMPLE  OF  SENTENCES  MISARRANGED  :  — 

The  two  halves  of  a  huge  white  mustache  encircled  his  mouth, 
like  two  parentheses.  This  man  had  on  his  head  a  piece  of  a 
cocked  hat,  without  a  cockade ;  his  dilapidated  face  had  a  stony 
tint,  that  yellow  tint  which  old  monuments  have  in  the  sun- 
light. He  was  dressed  in  an  old  uniform.  They  saw  in  front 
of  a  vineyard  gate  a  sort  of  soldier.  Across  one  of  the  sleeves 
stretched  an  old  and  worn  strip  of  gold  lace. 

THE    SAME    SENTENCES    PROPERLY    ARRANGED  :  — 

Topic  —  Description  of  an  old  soldier 

They  saw  in  front  of  a  vineyard  gate  a  sort  of  soldier.  This 
man  had  on  his  head  a  piece  of  a  cocked  hat,  without  a  cockade ; 
his  dilapidated  face  had  a  stony  tint,  that  yellow  tint  which 
old  monuments  have  in  the  sunlight.  The  two  halves  of 
a  huge  white  mustache  encircled  his  mouth,  like  two  paren- 
theses. ^Ie  was  dressed  in  an  old  uniform.  Across  one  of  the 
sleeves  stretched  an  old  and  worn  strip  of  gold  lace. 

Study  the  following  paragraphs  of  Disarranged  sen- 
tences, discover  the  topic  of  each  paragraph  and  write 
it  as  a  heading ;  then  rewrite  the  sentences,  arranged  so 
as  to  connect  smoothly  and  naturally. 

(a)  He  had  a  very  large  nose,  slightly  brass-colored:  his 
cheeks  were  very  round  and  very  red.  His  doublet  was  pro- 
longed behind  into  something  like  what  is  now  termed  a 
"  swallow  tail,"  but  was  much  obscured  by  the  swelling  folds 
of  an  enormous  black,  glossy -looking  cloak.  It  was  the  most 
extraordinary  looking  little  gentleman  Gluck  had  ever  seen. 
His  mustaches  curled  twice  round  like  a  corkscrew  on  each 


PARAGRAPHING  49 

side  of  his  mouth,  and  his  hair,  of  a  curious  mixed  pepper-and- 
salt  color,  descended  far  over  his  shoulders.  He  was  about 
four  feet  six  in  height,  and  wore  a  conical  pointed  cap  of 
nearly  the  same  altitude,  decorated  with  a  black  feather  some 
three  feet  long. 

(&)  They  thought  their  thick  mats  would  defend  them 
from  a  rifle  ball  as  well  as  from  a  stone.  Observing  the 
flashes  of  the  guns,  they  naturally  concluded  that  water  would 
counteract  their  effect.  It  was  generally  observed  that  at  first 
the  Indians  showed  great  resolution  in  facing  our  firearms ; 
but  it  was  entirely  owing  to  ignorance  of  their  effect.  Being 
soon  convinced  of  their  error,  yet  still  at  a  loss  to  understand 
how  so  many  among  them  were  killed,  they  had  recourse  to 
the  following  plan.  But  finding  this  last  resource  to  fail  them, 
they  soon  dispersed,  and  left  the  beach  entirely  clear.  They 
therefore,  very  sagaciously,  dipped  their  mats  or  armor  in  the 
sea,  just  before  coming  on  to  face  our  soldiers. 

(c)  Beneath  the  pulpit  sat  the  deacons,  and  just  before 
them  were  the  deaf  seats  and  benches  for  the  old  and  feeble 
who  owned  no  pews.  In  the  left-hand  gallery  were  the  young 
men  and  boys.  There,  too,  .sat  the  tithingman.  A  narrow  aisle 
crossed  the  broad  one  midway  and  joined  the  doors  on  either 
side.  The  young  women  filled  the  wall  pews  of  the  right-hand 
gallery.  The  main  door  opened  on  a  broad  aisle  that  led  to 
the  high  pulpit,  with  its  green  cushions  and  its  funnel-shaped 
sounding  board.  In  the  front  gallery  sat  the  singers.  Spin- 
sters and  elderly  women  were  given  the  front  row  of  seats. 
Close  to  the  four  walls  was  a  row  of  pews  separated  by  a  con- 
tinuous aisle  from  the  body  of  the  church.  The  little  girls 
had  benches. 

Exercise  22.  Paragraph  making.  —  Complete  the  para- 
graphs suggested  ~by  the  following  topic  sentences :  — 

(a)   To-day  I  saw  an  old  woman  selling  newspapers  .  .  . 
(6)   This  old  high-walled  garden  was  a  very  interesting  and 
delightful  place.  .  .  . 

AVRIT.    IN    ENG.  — 4 


50  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

(c)  The  tramp's  most  notable  peculiarity  was  his  voice.  .  .  . 

(d)  In  one  of  my  recent  walks  I  came  upon  the  handsome 
new  building  of  ... 

(e)  The  house  has  a  very  interesting  attic,  now  used  as  a 
storeroom  .  .  . 

(/)   To-day  I  saw  a  striking  experiment  performed  in  ... 
(g)    The  old  mill  is  well  worth  a  visit  .  .  . 

Note. — This  exercise  may  be  employed  for  oral  or  for  written 
composition  or  for  both,  as  the  teacher  may  direct. 

Exercise  23.  Paragraph  writing. — Write  from  each  of 
the  following  suggestions  a  paragraph.  Introduce  a  topic 
sentence  in  each  case. 

(a)  Our  school  yard.     Shape,  size  —  position  of  building  in 
it  —  parts  of  the  yard  —  objects,  trees,  etc.,  in  the  yard  —  signs 
it  bears  of  its  use  —  scenes  it  has  witnessed. 

(b)  The  public  square  (or,  a  square  or  little  park).     Situa- 
tion,   shape,    size  —  plan    or    parts  —  objects   in   it — special 
features. 

(c)  A  horseless  carriage.     First  impression  —  difference  in 
appearance  from  other  vehicles  —  number  of  seats  —  where  its 
mechanism  is  —  the  steering  gear,  etc.  —  the  brake  —  appear- 
ance when  at  full  speed. 

(d)  A  domestic  animal.     Size  —  limbs  —  proportions  —  coat 
—  movements. 

(e)  Our  church.     Parts  and  plan  —  material,  colors  —  strik- 
ing features. 

(/)  A  balloon.  Twenty  feet  high  when  filled  —  made  of 
silk  —  brown  —  hanging  basket  (for  passengers)  . —  ropes  form 
network  over  balloon  —  ropes  hold  up  the  basket. 

(g)  The  cotton  plant.  Two  or  three  feet  high  —  white  flow- 
ers, which  fall  off  —  seed  pod  ripens,  opens  of  itself  —  cotton 
plucked  with  seeds  in  it  —  seeds  must  be  removed  by  a 
machine. 

(h)  The  whale.  Great  size  (sometimes  sixty  feet  or  more  in 
length)  —  enormous  mouth  — tail  flat,  strong  and  heavy  enough 


PARAGRAPHING  51 

to  break  a  small  boat  —  blubber  or  fat  beneath  skin  —  in  top 
of  head,  nostril  through  which  the  whale  "  spouts." 

(/)  "  TJie  Dewey  Arch."  Erected  at  time  of  welcome  to 
Admiral  Dewey  —  made  of  white  staff,  coated  over  a  wooden 
framework  —  as  high  as  a  four-story  building  —  two  wagons 
may  pass  abreast  through  the  arch  —  smaller  side  arches  — 
sculpture  groups  on  faces  and  top. 

Exercise  24.  Original  description. — After  reading  again 
Scott's  description  of  the  mansion  of  Tully-  Veolan  (p.  33} 
outline  and  then  write  a  complete  description  of  some 
interesting  building,  paying  special  attention  to  para- 
graphing and  to  the  use  of  topic  sentences.  See  that  the 
several  paragraphs  are  smoothly  connected. 

Exercise  25.  Description  from  picture.  — Make  an  out- 
line for  a  description  of  the  Capitol  (p.  52}.  Write  the 
topic  sentences  for  all  the  paragraphs  you  would  write 
from  this  outline.  Then  write  the  description. 


CHAPTER  IV 

UNITY    IN   SENTENCES 

WE  have  seen  that  each  part  or  division  of  a  com- 
position (each  paragraph)  has  its  own  part  to  perform 
in  the  setting  forth  of  the  whole  subject,  and  that  it 
is  the  business  of  a  paragraph  to  tell  only  what 
belongs  to  it.  But  it  is  important  to  bear  in  mind 
that  each  sentence,  as  well  as  each  of  the  paragraphs 
and  the  whole  composition,  should  have  oneness  or 
unity.  For  a  sentence  is  the  expression  of  a  thought; 
its  one  business  is  to  express  that  thought,  no  more, 
no  less.  So  a  sentence  is  not  even  a  correct  one, 
unless  it  has  this  quality  of  unity.  Every  sentence, 
no  matter  how  long  it  is,  no  matter  how  many  modi- 
fying or  subordinate  ideas  it  has,  no  matter  how  many 
coordinate  verbs  it  has,  can  and  must  have  unity. 
For  so  long  as  the  less  important  or  subordinate  ideas 
are  kept  in  their  place,  being  used  merely  as  modi- 
fiers, the  sentence  still  has  the  unity  that  belongs 
to  its  principal  idea  or  statement.  And  as  for  com- 
pound sentences,  which  state  two  or  more  ideas  of 
equal  rank  or  importance,  such  sentences  also  have 
properly  a  unity,  because  the  parts  or  clauses  must  be 
closely  connected  in  thought,  or  they  are  simply  parts 

53 


54  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

of  the  same  thought.  If  not,  the  sentence  lacks  unity, 
and  is  a  bad  sentence. 

To  see  how  several  coordinate  statements  may  have 
unity,  take  the  sentence :  "  We  shouted  until  we  were 
hoarse,  and  Tom  hoisted  a  pole  with  a  handkerchief 
tied  to  it ;  my  brother  fired  his  revolver,  and  all  of  us 
waved  our  arms  wildly — but  we  could  not  attract 
their  attention."  Here  the  unity  among  the  state- 
ments is  in  the  idea  of  what  was  done  to  attract  the 
desired  attention. 

To  secure  unity  in  sentences  is  extremely  important, 
yet  not  always  easy.  Careless  and  uninstructed  writ- 
ers and  speakers  are  continually  uttering  sentences 
that  fail  of  unity.  Nothing  shows  the  poor  writer 
more  than  this.  In  fact,  the  greatest  lesson  we  can 
learn  about  good  sentence  making  is  to  give  every 
one  of  our  sentences  unity.  There  is  one  sound  rule 
to  follow :  Have  for  each  sentence  one  main  thought, 
and  one  only;  express  it,  and  then  put  the  period. 
If  at  first  all  your  sentences  are  short  and  simple,  no 
matter.  Have  no  ambition  to  write  long  sentences, 
until  you  are  sure  you  can  write  them  as  clear  units. 

There  are  three  or  four  very  common  causes  of 
failure  in  sentence  unity. 

I.    The  " and"  habit. 

Careless  writers  and  speakers  seem  almost  to  think 
there  is  no  other  conjunction  in  the  English  language 
than  "and."  They  string  out  idea  after  idea,  using 
"and"  to  pin  the  statements  together,  until  chance 


UNITY   IN  SENTENCES  55 

or  weariness  suggests  coming  to  a  stop.  This  is  one 
of  the  commonest  and  one  of  the  very  worst  faults 
in  sentence  making.  It  shows  thoughtlessness  and 
slovenliness.  In  every  sentence  there  should  be  a 
principal  thought  or  statement,  and  details  that  are 
subordinate  in  importance  should  be  expressed  as 
grammatically  subordinate.  Note  the  following  faulty 
sentences :  — 

1.  There  is  a  bird  on  that  branch,  and  its  nest  is  near  by, 
and  there  are  three  eggs  in  the  nest. 

2.  Mr.  Beecham  came  to  town  the  other  day  and  bought  his 
boy  a  bicycle  and  ordered   it  sent  out  to  his  farm,  and  it 
was  not  sent  for  a  week  and  Mr.  Beecham  was  very  angry 
about  it. 

3.  He  was  getting  old,  and  he  had  to  be  out  on  the  wharf  a 
good  deal,  and  it  wasn't  convenient  to  be  locking  up  his  office, 
and  he  sent  down  to  Machias  for  a  school-teacher  who  was  a 
sort  of  poor  relation  of  his. 

4.  And  so  John  saw  his  native  village  again,  and  it  was  a 
calm  sunny  day,  and  they  descended    into  the  green  valley 
where  the  town  lay,  and  knocked  at  Mr.  Ericsson's  door,  but 
the  house  was  empty. 

5.  In  many  places  the  forest  had  been  cut  away,  and  this 
left  open  tracts,  and  here  the  sweet  mountain  grass  grew  thick 
and  strong,  and  there  were  also  harebells,  foxgloves,  and  wild 
pinks. 

6.  Hans  was  walking  backward  and  forward  on  the  moun- 
tain side,  and  his  eyes  were  fixed  on  the  ground  and  he  did  not 
see  me  approach. 

7.  It  was  in  summer  and  the  flowers  were  all  in  blossom, 
and  he  was  walking  along  after  his  sheep,  and  all  at  once  he 
saw  a  wonderful  sky-blue  flower,  and  he  had  never  seen  one  of 
the  kind  before  in  all  his  life. 


56  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

Exercise  26.  Correction  of  abuse  of  "and."  —  In  each 
of  the  above  sentences,  select  what  you  regard  as  the 
principal  ideas,  then  cut  each  sentence  up  into  two 
or  more  sentences  having  "unity,"  expanding  the  one 
main  thought  when  necessary,  and  using  relative  pro- 
nouns or  other  connectives.  (See  the  table  of  conjunctions 
on  page  85.)  Some  of  the  clauses  made  coordinate  should 
be  put  as  modifiers  (phrases  or  clauses)  if  they  are  really 
subordinate  in  thought. 

EXAMPLE  OF  CORRECTION  (sentence  1)  :  There  is  a  bird  on 
that  branch.  Its  nest,  containing  three  eggs,  is  near  by.  Or, 
On  that  branch  there  is  a  bird,  whose  nest  is  near  by.  The  nest 
has  in  it  three  tiny  eggs,  of  a  pale  blue  color. 

II.   Needless  change  of  subject. 

EXAMPLE  :  After  the  fire  had  been  lighted,  the  boys  re- 
treated to  a  shed  which  was  some  twenty  feet  from  the  house 
of  Mr.  Foote,  whose  family  was  absent  from  home.  (This 
sentence  employs  four  words  as  subjects :  fire,  boys,  which, 
and  family.)  Changed  so  as  to  reduce  the  number  of  subjects : 
After  lighting  the  fire  the  boys  retreated  to  a  shed  near  the 
home  of  Mr.  Foote's  absent  family. 

1.  When  my  uncle  reached  home,  the  members  of  his  family 
were  found  to  have  gone  out  to  a  party. 

2.  Although  the  captain  thought  the  fire  was  a  serious  one, 
it  was  concluded  by  him  that  prompt  action  might  save  the 
house. 

3.  He  received  us  very  pleasantly,  and  we  were  invited  by 
him  to  take  seats  in  the  shady  courtyard. 

4.  The  climate  of  Khartoum  is  very  unhealthful,  and  we 
learned   that   this  unfortunate   gentleman   had   long    been   a 
resident  of  the  place,  and  that  he  was  suffering  greatly  from 
fever. 

5.  There  were  indeed  some  persons,  but  the  number  of  them 
was  small,  by  whom  a  kind  of  hobbling  march  on  the  broken 


UNITY  IN  SENTENCES  57 

arches  of  the  bridge  was  continued,  but  they  fell  through,  one 
after  another,  as  so  long  a  walk  had  tired  them. 

Exercise  27.  Avoiding  change  of  subject.  —  Correct  the 
above  sentences,  by  reducing  the  number  of  the  subjects, 
if  possible  to  only  one,  by  placing  some  of  the.  statements 
as  modifiers,  or  by  changing  verbs  in  the  passive  voice  to 
the  active  voice,  or  the  reverse.  (See  the  example  of  cor- 
rection given.)  Sometimes  it  may  be  well  to  make  two 
sentences  instead  of  one. 

III.  Forgetting  the  verb.  —  One  fault  that  is  simply 
bad  grammar,  and  can  appear  only  in  very  careless 
writing,  is  to  omit  the  verb.  This  occurs  in  rather 
long  and  complex  sentences,  which  have  confused  the 
writer  himself. 

EXAMPLES  :  1.  But  Fletcher,  who,  after  he  had  visited  the 
mill,  thinking  he  had  now  to  cover  his  tracks,  walked  some 
distance  in  the  brook. 

2.  But  when  we  returned  to  the  cottage  at  nightfall  with  the 
horse  which  had  been  stolen,  and  which  was  now,  as  we  ap- 
proached the  house,  so  badly  frightened  that  he  broke  away 
and  ran  into  the  woods. 

3.  The   long  facade,  consisting  only  of  balconied  windows 
deeply    recessed,    standing   erect   on    the    summit   of  a   con- 
siderable hill,  which  gives  a  fine  plunging  movement  to  its 
foundations. 

4.  But  Frank,  after  he  had  tried  again  and  again  to  break 
open  the  shutter,  which  was  nailed  at  three  or  four  places,  and 
found  he  could  do  nothing  with  it. 

5.  Looking  very  weak  and  weary,  the  boy,  who  had  evidently 
walked'  a  great  distance,  for  his  face  was  pale  and  his  steps 
were  slow,  coming  timidly  up  the  garden  walk,  and  rapped  at 
the  door. 


58  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

Exercise  28.  Correction  of  sentences.  —  Rewrite  the  above 
sentences  so  as  to  make  them  say  something  clearly  and 
grammatically.  If  you  prefer,  make  two  sentences  to 
take  the  place  of  any  one. 

EXAMPLE  :  The  first  above  given  may  be  corrected  by  omit- 
ting "who."  If  this  is  done,  "  walked  "  becomes  the  principal 
verb,  with  the  subject  "Fletcher." 

IV.   Joining  unconnected  ideas. 

EXAMPLES  :  1.  Soup  is  good  to  begin  a  meal  with,  and  we 
were  all  hungry  as  could  be. 

2.  Goldsmith,  who  had  the  smallpox  in  his  youth,  became  a 
great  writer  before  he  was  forty. 

3.  He  came  back  on  the  night  boat,  looking  much  better 
after  his  two  weeks'  vacation. 

4.  He  had  the  air  of  a  nobleman ;  at  the  time  I  saw  him  he 
had  on  a  white  waistcoat. 

5.  When  the  body  was  pulled  into  the  boat  it  was  found  to 
be  clothed  in  the  same  blue  suit  Martin  had  recently  bought, 
but  all  efforts  to  restore  life  were  in  vain. 

6.  I  next  saw  the  town  from  the  stern  thwart  of  a  little  sail- 
ing vessel ;  behind  the  settlement  was  a  great  gash  in  the  hill- 
side where  granite  was  quarried. 

7.  The  name  of  the  building  was  The  Mentone,  and  it  was 
completely  destroyed  by  the  fire. 

Exercise  29.  Sentence-unity.  —  Correct  or  expand  the 
above  sentences  so  as  to  secure  unity ;  or  write  reasons  for 
thinking  them  faulty. 

EXAMPLE  (1  above)  :  When  one  is  tired  and  cold,  a  bowl  of 
soup  is  the  best  thing  to  begin  a  meal  with.  As  for  us,  we 
were  so  hungry  that  anything  would  have  tasted  good.  Or 
(make  a  connection  between  the  two  statements  given)  :  We 


UNITY  IN   SENTENCES  59 

were  so  hungry  that  the  soup,  poor  as  it  was,  seemed  a  delicious 
and  satisfying  thing  to  begin  the  meal  with. 

Exercise  30.  Criticism.  —  Look  over  one  of  your  own 
compositions,  sentence  by  sentence,  to  make  sure  that  each 
sentence  has  "unity"  and  contains  no  misuse  of  "and." 
Bring  to  class,  copied  out,  the  incorrect  sentences,  and 
opposite  them  write  correct  or  improved  ones,  thus:-— 

The  incorrect  sentences.     The  same  corrected  or  improved. 


CHAPTER   V 

MORE    ABOUT    DESCRIPTION 

IN  Chapter  II  we  learned  that  all  compositions 
should  show  skillful  selection  and  have  completeness, 
unity,  and  a  well-thought-out  plan.  Descriptions, 
therefore,  should  be  full  enough  of  well-chosen  details 
to  be  satisfactory,  that  is,  there  should  be  no  omission 
or  oversight  of  important  parts  of  the  subject ;  and 
descriptions  should  be  free  from  sentences  or  para- 
graphs that  have  no  close  or  useful  connection  with 
the  subject.  As  for  the  requirement  of  plan,  we  saw 
that  in  good  descriptions  the  writer  usually  begins 
with  a  glance  at  the  subject  of  the  description,  men- 
tioning that  which  first  or  most  prominently  strikes 
the  attention  in  it ;  and  then  that  he  uses  the  larger 
part  or  body  of  the  description  to  set  forth  the  details 
in  full,  arranged  in  some  definite  order,  and  grouped 
under  certain  divisions  or  heads. 

In  this  chapter  we  are  to  consider  a  few  ways  of 
improving  our  descriptions,  and  we  shall  continue 
also  our  study  of  paragraphing. 

I.  Point  of  view.  —  In  beginning  a  description,  it 
is  usually  necessary,  for  the  sake  of  clearness,  to 
select  a  point  from  which  to  view  the  object  or  scene. 

60 


MORE   ABOUT  DESCRIPTION  61 

If  your  subject  is  a  house,  and  your  point  of  view  is 
outside  of  it,  you  are  not  expected  to  describe  any  of 
the  interior,  except,  perhaps,  what  you  see  from  that 
outside  position.  Neither  should  you  describe  all 
the  sides  of  the  house,  for  all  are  not  to  be  seen  from 
one  point  of  view.  Sometimes,  however,  the  observer 
may  change  his  point  of  view  during  the  description. 
He  may,  for  instance,  walk  entirely  round  the  house. 
Whenever  the  point  of  view  is  movable,  the  reader 
should  be  distinctly  told  so.  Whether  it  is  well  to 
have  a  moving  point  of  view,  depends  upon  the 
nature  of  the  subject.  Of  course,  in  describing  the 
interior  of  a  house  of  several  rooms,  the  point  of  view 
must  change  from  room  to  room.  (See  Dickens' s 
description  of  Bleak  House,  quoted  in  Chapter  II.) 
This  is  really  a  case,  however,  of  several  descriptions 
in  one. 

A  very  important  result  of  having  a  certain  point 
of  view  is  that  the  scale  of  the  description  depends 
upon  the  distance  of  the  point  of  view.  If  a  writer 
is  describing  a  mountain  as  seen  from  a  distance  of 
several  miles,  of  course  he  will  see  none  of  the  details 
that  engage  the  attention  of  a  person  climbing  the 
same  mountain.  The  latter  would  write  of  the  rocks, 
the  fallen  trunks,  the  brushwood,  the  flowers,  the 
dead  leaves,  and  perhaps  the  occasional  outlook  from 
the  slopes  over  the  broad  valleys.  The  distant 
observer  would  see  the  great  outlines  of  the  moun- 
tain, the  play  of  light  and  shade,  the  overhanging 
clouds. 


62  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

All  that  can  be  said  is,  that  a  writer  should  decide 
carefully  upon  his  point  of  view,  just  as  a  painter 
must  select  the  place  for  his  stool  and  canvas.  Not 
to  have  clearly  in  mind  a  point  of  view,  whether 
close  or  distant,  oblique  from  the  object  or  directly  in 
front,  above  or  below  it,  outside  of  it  or  inside,  makes 
danger  of  vagueness  and  inaccuracy  in  the  description. 

Exercise  31.  Points  of  view.  —  What  are  the  points  of 
view  in  Irvine's  description  of  an  inn  kitchen,  page  21, 
Mr.  Kipling's  deswiption  of  Holden's  house,  page  22, 
Stevenson's  description  of  Mr.  Hyde,  page  28,  Miss  Rep- 
plier's  description  of  a  street  pageant,  page  30,  Dickens 's 
description  of  the  shoemaker,  page  38,  of  a  room  and  its 
occupant,  page  4$>  Mr.  Garland's  description  of  Mount 
Koweechee,  page  46,  Stevenson's  description  of  a  London 
fog,  page  46? 

Exercise  32.  Points  of  view.  —  (a)  What  were  the 
points  of  view  in  three  of  the  descriptions  you  have  writ- 
ten? (&)  What  point  of  view  would  you  adopt  in  writing 
a  description  of  your  room,  at  home ;  of  a  house  on  fire ; 
of  a  florist's  window ;  of  a  snowstorm ;  of  a  race  ? 

II.  Use  of  comparison.  —  Sometimes  in  describ- 
ing a  complex  or  extensive  subject  or  scene,  it  is 
very  useful  to  compare  it  to  something  simple  and 
familiar,  for  this  helps  our  readers  to  understand  all 
that  we  say.  Thus  in  describing  the  battlefield  of 
Waterloo,  Victor  Hugo  asks  his  readers  to  imagine  a 
great  A.  Then  he  goes  on  to  explain  that  the  lines 
are  roads,  and  that  the  three-cornered  space  is  occu- 
pied by  a  certain  hill,  and  so  on.  This  comparison 


MORE   ABOUT   DESCRIPTION  63 

of  the  place  with  an  A  makes  the  entire  description 
much  clearer  and  simpler  than  it  might  have  been. 
In  the  same  way  Mr.  Creasy,  the  author  of  The 
Fifteen  Decisive  Battles  of  the  World,  makes  clear 
his  description  of  the  battlefield  of  Marathon  by 
comparing  it  to  a  crescent  (the  shape  of  the  young 
moon).  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  describing  the  hall  of 
Cedric  the  Saxon  (in  Ivanhoe,  Ch.  Ill),  explains  the 
arrangement  of  the  tables  by  saying  they  formed  a 
large  T;  the  cross  part,  on  a  slightly  raised  platform, 
being  the  table  at  which  sat  Cedric  and  his  immediate 
family. 

The  world  is  full  of  similarities,  and  if  a  writer 
chooses  a  comparison  that  will  really  explain  and 
make  distinct  the  thing  or  scene  he  is  describing  he 
will  add  much  to  his  description.  It  will  usually  be 
wise  for  the  writer  of  a  description  to  pause  and  ask 
himself:  "What  is  this  like?  What  can  I  compare 
my  subject  to  ?  " 

Note  the  comparisons  in  the  following  description 
of  an  army  hospital : 

(From  The  Wound  Dresser,  by  Walt  Whitman,  p.  35.     By  per- 
mission.) 

As  a  specimen  of  almost  any  one  of  these  hospitals,  fancy 
to  yourself  a  space  of  three  to  twenty  acres  of  ground,  on  which 
are  grouped  ten  or  twelve  very  large  wooden  barracks,  with, 
perhaps,  a  dozen  or  twenty,  and  sometimes  more  than  that 
number,  of  small  buildings,  capable  all  together  of  accommo- 
dating from  five  hundred  to  a  thousand  or  fifteen  hundred 
persons.  Sometimes  these  large  wooden  barracks,  or  wards, 
each  of  them,  perhaps,  from  a  hundred  to  a  hundred  and  fifty 


64  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

feet  long,  are  arranged  in  a  straight  row,  evenly  fronting  the 
street;  others  are  planned  so  as  to  form  an  immense  V;  and 
others  again  arranged  around  a  hollow  square.  They  make 
all  together  a  huge  cluster. 

III.  Statement  of  effects.  —  One  of  the  strongest 
ways  of  describing  anything  is  by  telling  its  effect 
upon  yourself  or  upon  others.  Instead  of  trying  to 
describe  the  beauty  of  Helen,  Homer  tells  us  of  the 
admiration  and  wonder  the  sight  of  her  caused  in 
the  old  men  at  the  gate  of  Troy.  So,  in  the  descrip- 
tion of  Mr.  Hyde,  quoted  in  Chapter  II  of  this  book, 
the  author  makes  us  realize  how  horrible  was  the 
man's  appearance  by  telling  how  the  very  sight  of 
his  deformity  made  the  observer  feel. 

Always  try,  in  describing  anything,  to  make  your 
reader  feel  as  you  do.  Bring  yourself  into  your 
descriptions,  not  so  much,  perhaps,  by  telling  as  by 
suggesting  what  you  think  and  feel  in  the  presence 
of  your  subject,  and  thus  causing  your  reader  to  have 
those  thoughts  and  feelings  too.  This  gives  life  to 
what  you  write.  If  you  are  telling  about  a  wretched 
abandoned  old  house,  your  thoughts  and  feelings 
would  not  be  the  same  as  if  you  were  in  a  great 
sunny  field  filled  with  flowers.  Make  the  reader 
share  your  own  impressions.  In  this  way  you  make 
the  description  distinctly  your  own.  Do  not  put 
down  just  bare  cold  facts,  but  write  with  love  of 
your  subject,  write  feelingly  and  personally,  so  that  if 
anybody  reads  what  you  write  he  may  think  and 
feel  as  you  did. 


MORE   ABOUT   DESCRIPTION  65 

IV.  Giving  of  sense-impressions.  —  One  particular 
form  of  giving  your  own  feelings  is  to  mention  or 
indicate  how  the  subject  impresses  your  five  senses. 
Of  course,  in  most  descriptions  we  are  obliged  to 
speak  principally  of  sight-impressions ;  but  very 
often  there  are  odors  and  sounds  to  be  mentioned 
and  described,  and  occasionally  there  are  impressions 
of  touch  and  taste.  It  is  extremely  important  to 
suggest  sense-impressions,  for,  the  more  you  mention, 
the  more  vivid  and  complete  is  the  reader's  idea  of 
the  thing  or  scene  described. 

First  let  us  think  how  many  different  impressions 
we  get  only  or  chiefly  through  sight.  When  we 
look  at  an  object  we  see :  — 

1.  Its  size, 

2.  Its  shape  and  parts  and  position, 

3.  Its  apparent  texture  or  character, 

4.  Its  movements,  if  any, 

5.  Its  colors,  and  effects  of  light  and  shadow. 
All  these  are  valuable  parts  of  the  description  of 

any  visible  object  or  scene.  The  details  regarding 
colors  may  be  particularly  delightful,  and  should 
always  be  given. 

Add  to  the  five  sight-impressions  these  others  :  — 

6.  Impressions  of  one's  own  bodily  motions, 

7.  Of  sounds, 

8.  Of    touch,   of    pressure    and   weight,    and   of 
temperature, 

9.  Of  odors, 
10.    Of  taste, 

WRIT.    IN    ENO.  —  5 


66  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

and  we  have  a  wide  range  of  impressions,  whether 
agreeable  or  disagreeable,  which  it  is  the  describer's 
business  to  convey  or  suggest,  and  which,  when  well 
communicated,  impart  to  a  description  a  large  element 
of  its  merit  and  of  its  pleasure-giving  qualities. 

Exercise  33.  Sense-impressions.  —  In  the  following  de- 
scriptions, note  (in  writing}  the  sorts  of  impressions  con- 
veyed by  the  words  or  phrases  in  italics :  — 

Description  of  a  Landscape  in  France.  (From  Travels  with  a 
Donkey,  by  Robert  Louis  Stevenson,  p.  48.) 

Pradelles  stands  on  a  hillside,  high  above  the  Allier,  sur- 
rounded by  rich  meadows.  They  were  cutting  aftermath  on  all 
sides,  which  gave  the  neighborhood,  this  gusty  autumn  morning, 
an  untimely  smell  of  hay.  On  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Allier 
the  land  kept  mounting  for  miles  to  the  horizon ;  a  tanned  and 
sallow  autumn  landscape,  with  black  blots  of  fir  wood  and  white 
roads  wandering  through  the  hills.  Over  all  this  the  clouds 
shed  a  uniform  and  purplish  shadow  .  .  .  throwing  into 
still  higher  relief  the  twisted  ribbons  of  the  highway.  It  was  a 
cheerless  prospect,  but  one  stimulating  to  a  traveler. 

Description  of  Amy  Falconer.  (From  The  Choir  Invisible, 
by  James  Lane  Allen,  p.  3.  Copyright,  1897,  by  The 
Macmillan  Company.) 

Her  pink  calico  dress,  newly  starched  and  ironed,  had  looked 
so  pretty  to  her  when  she  had  started  from  home,  that  she  had 
not  been  able  to  bear  the  thought  of  wearing  over  it  this  lovely 
afternoon  her  faded,  much-stained  riding-skirt;  and  it  was  so 
short  that  it  showed,  resting  against  the  saddle-skirt,  her  little 
feet  loosely  fitted  into  new  bronze  morocco  shoes.  On  her 
hands  she  had  drawn  ivhite  half-hand  mittens  of  home-knit;  and 
on  her  head  she  wore  an  enormous  white  scoop  bonnet,  lined 
with  pinky  and  tied  under  her  chin  in  a  huge  white  muslin  bow. 


MORE  ABOUT  DESCRIPTION  67 

Her  face,  hidden  away  under  the  pink-and-white  shadow, 
showed  such  tints  of  pearl  and  rose  that  it  seemed  carved  from 
the  inner  surface  of  a  seashell.  Her  eyes  were  gray,  almond- 
shaped,,  rather  ivide  apart,  with  an  expression  changeful  and 
playful,  but  withal  rather  shrewd  and  hard ;  her  light  brown 
hair,  as  fine  as  unspun  silk,  was  parted  over  her  brow  and 
drawn  simply  back  behind  her  ears ;  and  the  lips  of  her  little 
mouth  curved  against  each  other,  fresh,  velvetlike,  smiling. 

On  she  rode  down  the  avenue  of  the  primeval  woods ;  and 
Nature  seemed  arranged  to  salute  her  as  some  imperial  pres- 
ence; with  the  waving  of  a  hundred  green  boughs  above  and 
on  each  side ;  with  a  hundred  floating  odors;  with  the/as/i  and 
rush  of  bright  wings ;  with  the  swift  play  of  nimble  forms  up 
and  down  the  boles  of  trees ;  and  all  the  sweet  confusion  of 
innumerable  melodies. 

Willowby   Heath.     (From    Green   Pastures  and   Piccadilly,  by 
William  Black,  Ch.  II.) 

This  was  Willowby  Heath  —  a  vast  stretch  of  sandy  ground 
covered  by  dark  heather  mostly,  but  showing  here  and  there 
brilliant  masses  of  gorse  and  broom,  and  here  and  there  a  small 
larch  tree  not  over  four  feet  in  height,  but  gleaming  with  a 
glimmer  of  green  over  the  dark  common.  A  couple  of  miles 
away,  on  a  Jcnoll,  stood  a  ivindmitt,  its  great  arms  motionless. 
Beyond  that  again  the  heath  darkened  as  it  rose  to  the  hori- 
zon, and  ended  in  a  black  line  of  firs. 

Exercise  34.  Comparisons  in  descriptions. —  What  com- 
parisons cure  stated  or  suggested  in  the  three  descriptions 
just  quoted?  Write  out  a  list,  containing  at  least  five. 

Exercise  35.  Description  from  picture.  —  (a)  Make  an 
outline  for  a  description  of  the  scene  represented  in  the 
picture  on  page  68.  (b)  Write  the  description,  convey- 
ing a  sense  of  reality,  as  far  as  you  can,  by  suggesting 
comparisons  and  sense-impressions. 


MORE   ABOUT  DESCRIPTION  69 

Exercise  36.  Sense-impressions.  —  Note,  in  a  table  or 
list,  the  words  in  the  following  descriptions  that  men- 
tion or  suggest  sense-impressions,  and  opposite  each  word 
write  the  sort  of  sense-impression  conveyed. 

A  Youthful  Pioneer.  (From  The  Choir  Invisible,  by  James 
Lane  Allen,  p.  14.  Copyright,  1897,  by  The  Macmillan 
Company.) 

One  among  them,  larger  and  handsomer  than  the  others,  had 
pleased  his  fancy  by  donning  more  nearly  the  Indian  dress. 
His  breechclout  was  of  dappled  fawn  skin;  his  long  thigh- 
boots  of  thin  deerhide  were  open  at  the  hips,  leaving  exposed 
the  clear  whiteness  of  his  flesh ;  below  the  knees  they  were 
ornamented  by  a  scarlet  fringe  tipped  with  the  hoofs  of  fawns 
and  the  spurs  of  wild  turkey ;  and  in  his  cap  he  wore  the  in- 
tertwined wings  of  the  hawk  and  the  scarlet  tanager. 

A  Scene  in  Southern  Californ  ia.  (From  A  Summer  in  a  Canon, 
by  Kate  Douglas  Wiggin,  p.  20.  Houghton,  Mifflin,  and 
Company,  by  permission.) 

The  town  is  yet  asleep,  and  in  truth  it  is  never  apt  to  be 
fairly  wide  awake.  The  air  is  soft  and  balmy ;  the  lovely  Pacific, 
a  quivering,  sparkling  sheet  of  blue  and  gray  and  green  flecked 
with  white  foam,  stretches  far  out  until  it  is  lost  in  the  rosy 
sky ;  and  the  mountains,  all  purple  and  pink  and  faint  crimson 
and  gray,  stand  like  sentinels  along  the  shore.  The  scent  of 
the  roses,  violets,  and  mignonette  mingled  with  the  cloying  fra- 
grance of  the  datura  is  heavy  in  the  still  air-  The  bending, 
willowy  pepper  trees  show  myriad  bunches  of  yellow  blossoms, 
crimson  seed  berries,  and  fresh  green  leaves,  whose  surface,  not 
rain-washed  for  months,  is  as  full  of  color  as  ever.  The 
palm  trees  rise  without  a  branch,  tall,  slender,  and  graceful, 
from  the  warmly  generous  earth,  and  spread  at  last,  as  if  tired 
of  their  straightness,  into  beautiful  crowns  of  fans,  which  sway 
toward  each  other  with  every  breath  of  air.  Innumerable  but- 
terflies and  humming  birds,  in  the  hot,  dazzling  sunshine  of 


70  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

noonday,  will  be  hovering  over  the  beds  of  sweet  purple  helio- 
trope and  finding  their  way  into  the  hearts  of  the  passion 
flowers,  but  as  yet  not  the  faintest  whir  of  wings  can  be  heard. 
Looking  eastward  or  westward,  you  see  either  brown  foothills, 
or,  a  little  later  on,  emerald  slopes  whose  vines  hang  heavy 
with  the  half-ripened  grapes. 

The    Circus    CfirL      (From    Day   Dreams,    by    Kenneth    Gra- 

hame,  p.  105.) 

& 
I  found  myself  seated  actually  in  the  circus  at  lastj  and  took 

in  the  first  sniff  of  that  intoxicating  circus  smell»that  will  stay 
by  me  while  this  clay  endures.  The  place  was  beset  by  a  hum 
and  a  glitter  and  a  mist;  suspense  brooded  large  o'er  the 
blank,  mysterious  arena.  Strung  up  to  the  highest  pitch  of 
expectation,  we  knew  not  from  what  quarter,  in  what  divine 
shape,  the  first  surprise  would  come. 

A  thud  of  unseen  hoofs  first  set  us  a-quiver ;  then  a  crash  of 
cymbals,  a  jangle  of  bells,  a  hoarse  applauding  roar,  and 
Coralie  was  in  the  midst  of  us,  whirling  past  'twixt  earth  and 
sky,  now  erect,  flushed,  radiant,  now  crouched  to  the  flowing 
mane;  swung  and  tossed  and  molded  by  the  maddening 
dance  music  of  the  band.  The  mighty  whip  of  the  count  in 
the  frock  coat  marked  time  with  pistol  shots;  his  war  cry, 
whooping  clear  above  the  music,  fired  the  blood  with  a  passion 
for  splendid  deeds,  as  Coralie,  laughing,  exultant,  crashed 
through  the  paper  hoops.  We  gripped  the  red  cloth  in  front 
of  us,  and  our  souls  sped  round  and  round  with  Coralie,  leaping 
with  her,  prone  with  her,  swung  by  mane  or  tail  with  her. 
It  was  not  only  the  ravishment  of  her  delirious  feats,  nor  her 
cream-colored  horse  of  fairy  breed,  long-tailed,  roe-footed,  an 
enchanted  prince  surely,  if  ever  there  was  one !  It  was  her 
more  than  mortal  beauty  that  held  us  spellbound.  What 
princess  had  arms  so  dazzlingly  white,  or  went  delicately 
clothed  in  such  pink  and  spangles  ? 

But  summers  sicken,  flowers  fail  and  die,  all  beauty  but 
rides  round  the  ring  and  out  at  the  portal;  even  so  Coralie 


MORE   ABOUT  DESCRIPTION  71 

passed  in  her  turn,  poised  sideways,  panting,  on  her  steed; 
lightly  swayed  as  a  tulip  bloom,  bowing  on  this  side  and  on 
that  as  she  disappeared. 

Near  Whales  at  Night.      (From   Two   Years  Before  the  Mast, 
by  E.  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  p.  30.) 

It  was  on  the  night  that  we  passed  between  the  Falkland 
Islands  and  Staten  Land.  We  had  the  watch  from  twelve  to 
four,  and,  coming  upon  deck,  found  the  little  brig  lying  perfectly 
still,  inclosed  in  a  thick  fog,  and  the  sea  as  smooth  as  though 
oil  had  been  poured  upon  it ;  yet  now  and  then  a  long,  low 
swell  rolling  under  its  surface,  slightly  lifting  the  vessel,  but 
without  breaking  the  glassy  smoothness  of  the  water.  We 
were  surrounded  far  and  near  by  shoals  of  sluggish  whales  and 
grampuses,  which  the  fog  prevented  our  seeing,  rising  slowly 
to  the  surface,  or  perhaps  lying  out  at  length,  heaving  out 
those  lazy,  deep,  and  long-drawn  breathings  which  give  such 
an  impression  of  supineness  and  strength.  Some  of  the 
watch  were  asleep,  and  the  others  were  quiet,  so  that  there  was 
nothing  to  break  the  illusion,  and  I  stood  leaning  over  the  bul- 
warks, listening  to  the  slow  breathings  of  the  mighty  crea- 
tures,—  now  one  breaking  the  water  just  alongside,  whose 
black  body  I  almost  fancied  that  I  could  see  through  the  fog ; 
and  again  another,  which  I  could  just  hear  in  the  distance,  — 
'until  the  low  and  regular  swell  seemed  like  the  heaving  of  the 
ocean's  mighty  bosom  to  the  sound  of  its  own  heavy  and  long- 
drawn  respirations. 

A  Drive  in  Missouri.     (From  Green  Pastures  and  Piccadilly,  by 
William  Black,  Oh.  XLIV.) 

That  drive  up  the  bed  of  the  Missouri  we  shall  not  soon  for- 
get. There  was  no  made  road  at  all,  but  only  a  worn  track 
through  the  dense  vegetation  of  this  swampy  plain,  while  ever 
and  anon  this  track  was  barred  across  by  ravines  of  rich,  deep, 
black,  succulent  mud.  It  was  no  unusual  thing  for  us  to  see 
first  one  horse  and  then  its  companion  almost  disappear  into  a 


72  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

hole,  we  looking  down  on  them ;  then  there  would  be  a  fierce 
struggle,  a  plunge  on  our  part,  and  then  we  were  looking  up 
at  the  horses,  pawing  the  bank  above  us.  How  the  springs 
held  out  we  could  not  understand.  But  occasionally,  to  avoid 
these  ruts,  we  made  long  detours  through  the  adjacent  prairie 
land  lying  over  the  bluffs ;  and  certainly  this  was  much  pleas- 
anter.  We  went  through  a  wilderness  of  flowers,  and  the  scent 
of  the  trampled  Mayweed  filled  all  the  air  around  us.  ...  The 
sunflowers  were  higher  than  our  animals'  heads;  they  could 
not  possibly  see  where  they  were  going;  but,  all  the  same, 
they  slowly  ploughed  their  way  through  the  forest  of  crackling 
stems.  .  .  .  The  air  was  thick  with  insect  life,  and  vast  clouds 
of  reedbirds  rose,  as  we  passed,  from  the  sunflowers.  There 
was  a  red  fire  all  over  the  west  as  we  finally  drove  into  the 
valley  of  the  Decatur. 

Rubens's  Painting,  Samson  and  Delilah.     (From  George  Eliot's 
Letters,  in  her  Life,  by  J.  W.  Cross.) 

[I  was]  delighted  afresh  in  the  picture  of  "  Samson  and  Deli- 
lah," both  for  the  painting  and  the  character  of  the  figures. 
Delilah,  a  magnificent  blonde,  seated  in  a  chair,  with  a  trans- 
parent white  garment  slightly  covering  her  body,  and  a  rich 
red  piece  of  drapery  round  her  legs,  leans  forward,  with  one 
hand  resting  on  her  thigh,  the  other,  holding  the  cunning 
shears,  resting  on  the  chair — a  posture  which  shows  to  perfec- 
tion the  full,  round,  living  arms.  She  turns  her  head  around 
to  look  with  sly  triumph  at  Samson  —  a  tawny  giant,  his  legs 
caught  in  the  red  drapery,  shorn  of  his  long  locks,  furious  with 
the  consciousness  that  the  Philistines  are  upon  him,  and  that 
this  time  he  cannot  shake  them  off.  Above  the  group  of 
malicious  faces  and  grappling  arms  a  hand  holds  a  flaming 
torch.  Behind  Delilah,  and  grasping  her  arm,  leans  forward 
an  old  woman,  with  hard  features  full  of  exultation. 

Exercise  37.  Imitation  of  model.  —  (a)  Write,  in  imita- 
tion of  one  of  the  descriptions  given  in  Exercises  33  and 


MORE   ABOUT   DESCRIPTION  73 

36,  a  description  of  some  place  in  the  country  that  you 
remember  very  well,  or  of  some  scene  in  a  park,  or  of  a 
garden,  (ft)  Give  orally  an  imitation  of  another  of  the 
descriptions  given  in  the  same  exercises. 

Exercise  38.  Topics  and  topic  sentences.  -  Write  the 
topics  and  the  topic  sentences  of  the  paragraphs  quoted 
in  Exercises  33  and  36. 

Exercise  39.  Outlining  of  paragraphs.  —  Outline  any 
three  of  the  paragraphs  in  Exercise  36. 

Exercise  40.  Paragraphs  from  summaries.  —  (a)  From 
the  following  suggestions  write  descriptive  paragraphs, 
introducing  sense-impressions.  (See  descriptions  of  simi- 
lar subjects  quoted  previously.)  (ft)  Reproduce  orally  one 
of  your  own  descriptions. 

(a)  TJie  Pasha's  son.  Age  about  eleven  —  tall  for  his  age 
(form)  —  face,  eyes  (colors)  —  smile  (impression  made)  —  he 
made  a  graceful  salutation,  just  as  (comparison)  —  voice  (im- 
pression made)  —  manners. 

(6)    The  home  of  a  Russian  serf.     Supper  ready  (odors)  — 
in  one  corner  a  picture  of  Mary  and  Jesus,  the  figures  covered 
with  gilt  (color)  —  except  the  hands  —  these  blackened  by  smoke 
of  a  tiny  lamp  (colors)  —  fire  burning  (light  and  shadows)  — 
boiled  potatoes  steaming  in  a  big  wooden  bowl  —  salt,  plate  of 
melted  fat,  loaf  of  black  bread  —  no  plates,  knives,  or  forks  — 
rough  wooden  spoons  (form)  —  all  ate  from  the  bowl  (move- 
ment;   comparison)  —  for  drink,  a  thin  and  rather  sour  beer 
(taste  ;  invent  a  comparison). 

(c)  The  bay  on  a  windy  day.     The  water  (color),  furrowed 
(comparison)  —  the  water  flecked  with  foam  (color,  comparison) 
—  bare,  empty  of  vessels  —  all  the  sails  now  huddled  at  the 
wharves,  like  (comparison) — the  wind  from  off  the  water  (effect 
on  sense  of  feeling ;  odor). 

(d)  At  night  among  the  pines.     I  wakened  thirsty  —  drank 
a  tin  of  cold  water  (feeling  and  effect)  —  stars  clear  (colors, 


74  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

comparison)  —  Milky  Way  (color,  form)  —  all  around  me  the 
firpoints  (color)  stood  upright  and  stock  still  —  my  donkey 
munching  at  the  grass  the  only  sound  except  that  of  the  brook 
(describe  this  sound)  —  the  colors  in  the  sky/ 

Exercise  41 .  Original  description.  —  (a)  Prepare  an  out- 
line for  a  complete  original  description  of  a  landscape, 
a  street  scene,  a  picture,  an  audience,  or  a  classroom. 

(&)  Write  the  description,  introducing  all  the  direct 
sense-impressions  you  can. 


CHAPTER   VI 

SENTENCE-FOKMS 

WHILE  it  is  of  the  first  importance  in  our  writing 
that  we  shall  have  something  to  say,  and  shall  know 
how  to  arrange  and  present  our  paragraphs  and  their 
contents,  we  should  at  no  time  lose  sight  of  the  great 
need  all  writers  have  for  skill  in  the  formation  of 
sentences.  In  this  chapter  are  to  be  studied  the  parts 
or  elements  of  sentences,  the  kinds  of  sentences,  and 
some  of  the  transformations  of  which  sentences  are 
capable.  Now  we  must,  through  the  patient  practice 
afforded  by  many  exercises,  acquire  skill  in  thus 
changing  and  manipulating  sentences.  Only  in  this 
way  may  we  be  able  to  make  and  select  the  sentence- 
form  that  is  best  suited  to  each  case.  Necessarily  a 
good  deal  of  what  follows  is  in  the  nature  of  a  review 
and  application  of  English  grammar. 

I.  Kinds  of  elements.  —  In  the  study  of  grammar  l 
we  learn  that  a  sentence  consists  of  two  principal 
parts,  the  subject  (the  word  or  words  denoting  that 
about  which  something  is  said),  and  the  predicate 
(expressing  what  is  said  of  the  thing  denoted  by  the 
subject).  The  subject  may  be  a  word,  a  phrase,  or  a 
clause ;  and  it  may  be  modified  by  a  word,  a  phrase, 

1  See  Maxwell's  Advanced  Lessons  in  English  Grammar,  Ch.  V,  p.  39. 

75 


76  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

or  a  clause.  The  verb  in  the  predicate  may  also  be 
modified  by  one  or  more  words,  phrases,  or  clauses. 
(Remember  that  a  clause  always  has  in  it  a  subject 
and  a  predicate.) 

A  noun  (or  a  noun  expression),  whether  it  be  a 
subject,  an  object,  a  predicate  noun  (sometimes  called 
attribute),  or  the  noun  part  of  a  prepositional  phrase, 
may  be  modified  by  an  adjective  element.  (For 
example,  the  word  "  element "  in  the  last  sentence 
belongs  with  the  preposition  "  by,"  and  is  modified  by 
'•an"  and  "adjective.")  A  verb  may  be  modified 
by  one  or  more  adverbial  elements,  and,  if  transitive, 
may  have  one  or  more  object  elements.  So  we  may 
form  this  table  of  elements :  — 

I.    Principal  elements 

a.  Subject 

1.  Word  (a  noun  or  a  pronoun) 

2.  Phrase  (usually  an  infinitive  verb) 

3.  Clause 

b.  Predicate,  always  a  verb,  with  or  without  com- 

plements or  modifiers 

II.    Subordinate  elements 

a.  Predicate  complement  or  attribute  (of  intran- 
sitive verb) 

1.  Word 

2.  Phrase  (an  infinitive  verb,  or  else  a  prepo- 

sition with  its  object) 

3.  Clause 


SENTENCE-FORMS  77 

6.  Object  complement  (object  of  transitive  verb) 

1.  Word 

2.  Phrase  (usually  an  infinitive  verb) 

3.  Clause 

c.  Adjective  element 

1.  Word  (including  adjectives,  nouns  in  appo- 

sition, nouns  or  pronouns  in  the  possess- 
ive case) 

2.  Phrase  (either  an  infinitive  verb,  or  a  prep- 

osition with  its  object) 

3.  Clause  (always  introduced  by  a  relative  pro- 

noun, or  by  a  word  like  where,  wherein, 
etc.,  used  as  the  equivalent  of  a  preposi- 
tion and  a  relative  pronoun) 

d.  Adverbial  element 

1.  Word 

2.  Phrase  (infinitive  or  prepositional) 

3.  Clause  (introduced  by  one  of  the  subordi- 

nating conjunctions;  see  page  85) 

Exercise  42.  Kinds  of  elements. — In  the  above  table 
there  are  -five  groups,  each  group  containing  three  sub- 
divisions. There  are,  therefore,  fifteen  forms  of  elements 
to  be  known  (not  including  the  verb,  which  is  found  in 
all  sentences}.  Write,  in  order,  fifteen  sentences,  illus- 
trating the  fifteen  forms  of  elements  enumerated  in  the 
table.  Underline  in  each  sentence  the  element  you  intend 
as  the  example. 

Exercise  43.  Transformation  of  elements.— In  the  follow- 
ing sentences  change  the  italicized  words  to  phrases, 
and  the  italicized  phrases  to  words.  In  each  case,  after 


78  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

making  the  transformation,  tell  what  kind  of  element 
you  have  made,  and  tell  what  it  modifies  (unless  it  is  a 
principal  element,  — a  subject). 

EXAMPLES  :     (a)   That   inaple  CHANGED  :  That  golden-leaved 

tree  with  the  golden  leaves  may  maple  tree  may  be  seen  afar. 
be  seen  from  a  great  distance. 

(b)  Seeing  is  believing.  To  see  is  to  believe. 

(c)  He  is  a  man  of  stern  seventy.  He  is  a  stern  and  severe  man. 

I.  The  laws  of  nature  are  just.     2.  Windsor  Castle  has  long 
been  a  residence  of  kings  and  queens.     3.  He  has  done  his  work 
with  thoroughness.     4.  "  Happiness "  is  a  stronger  word  than 
"  felicity."     5.  The  offer  is  certainly  to  be  accepted.     6.  Writing 
about  a  man's  life  is  not  an  easy  form  of  literature.     7.  Playing 
quoits  is  a  game  of  small  merit.     8.  His  object  was  to  secure 
that  money.     9.  It  is  of  no  use  to  send  him  away.     10.  What 
is  of  more  bitterness  than  seeing  one's  children  ungrateful  ? 

II.  Kinds  of  sentences.  —  We  further  learn  in  the 
study  of  grammar  that  sentences  are  simple,  com- 
pound, or  complex.     A  simple  sentence  is  a  sentence 
containing  one  subject  and  one  predicate  (but  either 
the  subject  or  the  predicate,  or  both,  may  be  composed 
of  two  or  more  parts  of  equal  importance,  as,  two 
noun  subjects  or  two  verbs ;  there  is  then  said  to  be 
a  "  compound  subject "  or  a  "  compound  predicate  "). 
A  simple  sentence  may  be  lengthened  by  the  addi- 
tion of  modifiers ;  but  so  long  as  these  modifiers  are 
words  or  phrases,  and  not  clauses,  the  sentences  are 
still  simple  sentences. 

Exercise  44.     Formation  of  simple  sentences.  —  If  we 
take  apart  a  simple  sentence  like  this:  — 


SENTENCE-FORMS  79 

After  a  refreshing  walk  of  about  two  miles  we  reached  the 
corner  of  a  high  stone  wall  running  parallel  with  the  road, 

we  get  separate  elements  like  these :  — 

We  had  a  refreshing  walk.  It  was  a  walk  of  about  two 
miles.  Then  we  reached  the  corner  of  a  wall.  It  was  a  high 
wall.  It  was  of  stone.  It  ran  parallel  with  the  road. 

Each  of  the  following  groups  of  separate  elements  you 
are  to  combine  into  a  good  simple  sentence.  Be  sure  that 
you  use  in  each  sentence  but  one  subject-element  and  one 
verb-element  (though  the  subject  or  the  predicate  may  be 
compound}. 

Note.  —  Other  exercises  of  this  sort  are  found  in  MaxwelPs 
Advanced  Lessons  in  English  Grammar,  p.  45. 

1.  He  could  scarcely  sit  still  in  the  house.     This  was  dur- 
ing the  first  few  days.     He  could  scarcely  take  part  in  the 
studies.     Mr.  Lome  had  chosen  these  studies  for  him. 

2.  It  was  a  great  triumph  for  his  mother.  .  It  was  especially 
a  triumph  for  his  sister.     His  sister  was  now  a  bright,  bloom- 
ing girl.     She  was  sixteen  years  old. 

3.  He  had  a  restless  look.     He  had  a  rather  unhappy  look. 
This  was  very  different  from  the  bright  eyes  and  the  pleasant 
countenance  of  Otto.    Otto  was  his  best  friend. 

4.  Old  Gregor  and  his  grandson  were  returning  home.    They 
were  coming  through  the  forest.     They  had  bundles  of  wood. 
The  old  man  was  stooping  low  under  the  weight  of  the  heavy 
sticks. 

5.  He  set  out  in  a  direction  opposite  from  home.     He  was 
armed  with  a  club.     He  expected  to  find  another  bear. 

A  complex  sentence  is  one  that  contains  one  or  more 
dependent  or  subordinate  clauses,  but  only  one  princi- 
pal clause.  Any  sentence  that  contains  two  or  more 


80  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

principal  clauses  (no  matter  how  many  subordinate 
clauses)  is  a  compound  sentence. 

Exercise  45.  Formation  of  easy  complex  sentences. — 
Form  complex  sentences  from  the  following  sets  of  simple 
sentences,  by  using  suitable  connectives  and  jnahing 
necessary  contractions. 

EXAMPLES  :  (a)  I  saw  a  boy  start  up  and  run  after  his  cattle. 
The  last  one  of  the  cattle  was  entering  the  forest. 

I  saw  a  boy  start  up  and  run  after  his  cattle,  the  last  one  of 
which  was  entering  the  forest. 

(6)  The  boy  was  singing.     I  came  out  of  the  thicket. 

As  I  came  out  of  the  thicket,  the  boy  was  singing ;  or, 

While  the  boy  was  singing,  I  came  out  of  the  thicket. 

Note.  —  Similar  exercises  are  to  be  found  in  Maxwell's  Ad- 
vanced Lessons  in  English  Grammar,  p.  48. 

1.  I  seated  myself  in  the  shade.     I  wished  to  enjoy  the  view. 

2.  The  first  object  attracting  my  attention  was  Otto.     He 
was  knitting  beside  his  herd  of  cows.     This   was   his   usual 
occupation. 

3.  We  stepped  back  a  few  paces.     We  sat   down  on  the 
ground.     We  desired  to  bring  the  box  between  us  and  the  blue 
sky.     (Purpose.) 

4.  Other  bees  come.    They  quarrel  with  the  first  bees.    (Use 
a  time  clause.) 

5.  It  was  a  hemlock  tree.     It  stood  in  a  niche  in  a  wall  of 
rocks.    These  were  hoary  and  moss-covered.    They  were  thirty 
feet  high. 

Exercise  46.  Formation  of  compound  sentences.  — Form 
compound  sentences  from  the  following  sets  of  simple 
sentences,  and  tell  which  clauses  are  principal  and  which 
subordinate. 

EXAMPLE  :  To  the  southwest  the  soil  is  a  tough  clay.  To 
the  northeast  the  gardens  consist  of  a  warm  crumbling  mold, 
very  fertile. 


SENTENCE-FORMS  81 

To  the  southwest  the  soil  is  a  tough  clay,  while  to  the  north- 
east the  gardens  consist  of  a  warm  crumbling  mold,  very  fertile. 

Note.  —  Similar  exercises  are  to  be  found  in  Maxwell's  Ad- 
vanced Lessons  in  English  Grammar,  p.  50. 

1.  Our  wells,  at  an  average,  run  to  about  sixty-three  feet. 
When  sunk  to  that  depth  they  seldom  fail. 

2.  The  north  wind  is  blowing  hard.    It  must  be  a  cold  day. 

3.  It  was  the  first  of  May.     Snow  was  falling. 

4.  His  name  was  James.     It  may  have  been  John. 

5.  He  lay  back  in  the  steamer  chair  in  his  hall  room.    The 
shadows  began  to  lengthen  a  little.     The  long  day  drew  nearer 
to  its  end. 

6.  He  roused  himself.     The  hand  organs  had  both  gone 
away.     The  child  next  door  had  ceased  her  piano  practicing. 

7.  With  an  effort  he  raised  himself.     He  saw  a  line  of  car- 
riages on  the  other  side  of  the   street.      They  were  moving 
slowly  toward  the  corner. 

8.  He  was  thinking  about  himself.    He  was  thinking  about 
his  hopes.     They  had  been  as  bright  as  the  sunshine  of  spring. 
He  was  pondering  over  his  bitter  disappointment. 

9.  He  saw  the  long  shafts  of  level  sunshine.    They  entered 
his  window.     He   took   heart  again.     He   recalled  the   great 
things  accomplished  by  one  man. 

10.  The  dogs  were  barking.  Cattle  bells  were  jangling  in 
the  wooded  pastures.  The  youth  passed  farmhouses.  Lights 
in  the  kitchen  windows  showed  that  the  women  were  astir 
about  breakfast.  He  heard  the  sounds  of  voices  and  curry- 
combs at  the  barn.  The  men  were  at  their  daily  chores. 

Most  compound  sentences  may  be  changed  into 
complex  sentences,  and  many  complex  sentences  may 
be  changed  into  compound.  But  these  changes  make 
some  difference  in  the  meaning,  and  therefore  one  or 
the  other  sentence  in  every  case  is  the  better.  Usually 
the  complex  sentence  is  better  than  the  compound, 

WRIT.    IN   ENG.  —  6 


82  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

because  there  is  generally  but  one  principal  idea  or 
statement  in  a  sentence,  and  the  other  statements 
should  be  put  in  the  form  of  subordinate  clauses, 
participial  modifiers,  phrases,  adjectives,  or  adverbs. 
No  exercises  will  be  given  in  the  transformation  of 
complex  sentences  into  compound,  but  the  opposite 
transformation  it  is  very  important  to  understand. 

Exercise  47.  Transformation  of  compound  sentences 
into  complex.  —  Put  all  but  one  of  the  clauses  in  each 
of  the  following  sentences  into  the  form  of  subordinate 
clauses,  so  as  to  make  complex  sentences.  Be  very  care- 
ful to  keep  for  the  principal  clause  the  statement  which 
you  think  is  the  most  important  in  the  sentence. 

EXAMPLES  :   (a)  He  did  wrong,  and  his  father  punished  him. 

Changed:  His  father  punished  him  because  he  had  done 
wrong;  or,  As  he  had  done  wrong,  his  father  punished  him. 

(6)  You  have  only  twenty  marbles,  and  I  have  five  more 
than  you. 

Changed:  If  you  have  only  twenty  marbles,  I  have  five 
more  than  you. 

1.  The  mercury  dropped  suddenly,  and  I  knew  a  storm  was 
coming. 

2.  The  horse  felt  the  fly  and  shook  himself  at  once. 

3.  He  spoke  always  in  a  whisper,  and  this  lent  him  an  air 
of  mystery. 

4.  I  needed  all  the  money  I  could  save,  and  I  came  most 
of  the  way  by  canal  boat. 

5.  "  He'll  teach  him,"  said  Mr.  Lightly,  and  he  laughed  and 
coughed. 

6.  They  might  open  these  letters,  and  I  might  be  kept  here 
many  years  longer. 

7.  I  promised  to  deliver  both  letters  with  my  own  hands, 
and  the  man  parted  from  me  in  more  cheerful  spirits. 


SENTENCE-FORMS  83 

8.  You  sign  this  paper,  or  I  sue  you  for  the  money. 

9.  I  found  the  Pasha's  house,  but  I  was  not  admitted,  be- 
cause the  Egyptian  women  are  not  allowed  to  receive  the  visits 
of  strangers. 

10.  I  bring  you  this  letter,  and  I  promised  your  father  I 
would  deliver  it  into  your  own  hands. 

Exercise  48.  Transformation  into  simple  sentences.— 
(a)  Change  the  above  compound  sentences,  or  the  com- 
plex sentences  into  which  you  transform  them,  into 
simple  sentences.  Observe  that  an  adjective  or  adverbial 
clause  may  in  many  instances  be  changed  into  a  phrase 
or  even  into  a  word  element.  Since  this  change  secures 
brevity  and  simplicity,  it  is  often  a  good  one  to  make. 
But  the  more  expanded  form  may  sometimes  be  easier 
to  read  and  understand. 

EXAMPLES  of  this  kind  of  change :  — 

a.  The  valleys  which  produce  grass  enough  for  the  cattle 
are  generally  scattered  widely  apart. 

Changed  to  a  simple  sentence :   The  valleys  producing  grass 
enough  for  the  cattle  are  generally  scattered  widely  apart. 

b.  In  the  front  of  the  house,  where  the  sun  shone  warmest, 
he  had  laid  out  a  little  garden. 

In  front  of  the  house,  in  the  place  warmed  most  by  the  sun, 
he  had  laid  out  a  little  garden. 

c.  The  farmer  determined  that  he  would  not  sell  his  corn. 
The  farmer  determined  not  to  sell  his  corn. 

d.  The  storm  did  damage  that  could  not  be  repaired. 
The  storm  did  irreparable  damage. 

(&)  Change  in  similar  ways  the  following  to  simple 
sentences :  — 

1.  He  was  a  man  whose  character  was  above  reproach. 

2.  As  nature  had  done  so  much  for  Athens,  it  is  fortunate 
that  art  did  so  much  more. 


84  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

3.  One  day  as  I  stood  on  a  street  corner  in  a  great  city,  I 
saw  above  the  trucks  and  the  traffic  a  line  of  bees  that  were- 
carrying  off  sweets  from  some  grocery. 

4.  He  leapt  from  bed  as  the  sun  was  rising. 

5.  After  there  had  been  some  days  of  impatient  expec- 
tation, the  king  landed  at  Margate,  which  was  then  an  im- 
portant port. 

6.  It  was  a  book  that  one  could  read  with  enjoyment. 

7.  When  he  saw  the  woman  open  the  door,  he  dodged  back 
again  behind  the  fence. 

8.  However  differently  the  thirteen  colonies  may  have  been 
founded  or  governed,  they  were  all  alike  in  some  respects  that 
were  very  important. 

9.  The  tumult  was  such  that  it  could  not  be  described. 

10.  Others  were  governed  by  the  original  proprietors  or  by 
those  who  represented  them. 

11.  Find  single  words  for  the  following  expressions :  In  a 
high  degree,  it  is  possible   that,  with   earnestness,  for  that 
reason,  a  great  amount  of  (unhappiness),  through  his  whole 
life. 

One  of  the  most  serious  troubles  writers  have  in 
making  sentences  is  due  to  a  failure  to  see  what  is 
the  principal  idea,  of  which  the  others  must  be  modi- 
fiers. Nearly  always  when  several  sentences  are 
connected  by  "and/*  one  of  the  statements  should 
clearly  be  made  the  principal  one.  The  others  may 
be  subordinated  to  it  by  a  proper  use  of  conjunctions. 

Learn  to  use  complex  sentences  instead  of  compound. 

.  Now  a  skillful  use  of  complex  sentences  is  impos- 
sible without  a  knowledge  of  the  kinds  and  meanings 
of  the  English  conjunctions. 


SENTENCE-FORMS  85 

Conjunctions  may  be  classified  as  follows : 1  — 
I.   Coordinating  conjunctions 

a.  Copulative  or  additive  —  and,  also,  moreover, 
likewise,  both  .  .  .  and,  not  only  .  .  .  but 
also 

1.  Adversative  —  but,  yet,  still,  however,  while, 
whereas,  though,  and  yet,  though  .  .  .  yet 

c.  Disjunctive — or,  else,  or  else,  otherwise,  either 

...   or,  neither  .  .  .  nor 

d.  Illative  or  consequential  —  therefore,  hence, 

so,  and  so,  so  that,  consequently,  then,  so 
then,  wherefore,  accordingly 

II.  Subordinating  conjunctions 

e.  Introductory  —  that,  whether,  if 

/.  Causal  —  because,  since,  as,  for,  inasmuch  as, 
whereas 

g.  Purposive  —  that,  in  order  that,  so  that,  lest 

h.  Concessive  —  though,  although,  even  if,  inas- 
much as,  notwithstanding 

i.  Conditional  —  if,  provided,  supposing  that,  un- 
less 

j.  Adverbial  —  when,  how,  where,  as,  why, 
whither,  as  if,  while 

k.  Comparative  —  than,  as 

1  Compare  Maxwell's  Advanced  Lessons  in  English  Grammar,  pp.  202, 
203. 


86  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

To  these,  for  the  present  purpose,  may  be  added  a 
class  of  words  that  serve  both  as  pronouns  and  as 
connectives  :  — 

1.  Relative  pronouns  —  which,  who,  that,  as, 
what ;  whichever,  whoso,  etc.  Certain 
conjunctive  adverbs,  as  where,  wherein, 
whereto,  where-at,  -on,  -upon,  -by,  etc.,  are 
frequently  used  as  equivalent  to  a  prepo- 
sition and  a  relative  pronoun,  and  intro- 
duce adjective  clauses. 

The  correct  use  of  any  of  the  subordinating  con- 
junctions makes  a  complex  sentence,  while  the 
coordinating  conjunctions,  when  used  to  connect 
clauses,  form  compound  sentences.  (See  Maxwell's 
Advanced  Lessons  in  English  Grammar,  section  465.) 

Exercise  49.  Formation  of  complex  and  of  compound 
sentences.  —  Combine  each  of  the  following  groups  of  sim- 
ple sentences  into  (a)  a  compound  sentence,  (&)  a  complex 
sentence,  (c)  Whenever  it  is  possible,  change  the  result- 
ing sentence  into  a  simple  sentence. 

Mark  with  a  star  which  of  the  three  sentences,  (a), 
(&),  or  (c\  you  think  to  be  the  best  one,  and  be  prepared 
to  tell  why. 

In  making  change  (&)  the  letter  placed  after  each 
group  of  simple  sentences  refers  you  to  the  table  of  con- 
junctions just  given  and  suggests  what  relation  between 
the  clauses  is  to  be  expressed. 

EXAMPLE  :  I  came  home  at  seven  o'clock.  My  brother  had 
already  returned. 


SENTENCE-FORMS  87 

Changed  (a)  to  a  compound  sentence:  I  came  home  at 
seven  o'clock  and  my  brother  had  already  returned. 

(6)  to  a  complex  sentence :  When  I  came  home  at 

seven  o'clock  my  brother  had  already  returned  (time  clause  used). 

(c)  to  a  simple  sentence:    By  the  hour  of   my 

coming  home,  seven  o'clock,  my  brother  had  already  returned. 

Here,  of  course,  the  complex  sentence  is  best,  since  it  ex- 
presses most  clearly  and  briefly  the  true  relation  between  the 
two  statements  given  to  be  combined.  The  compound  sentence 
(a)  is  a  distinctly  bad  sentence. 

1.  The  piece  of  quartz  was  pure  white.    My  father  gave  it 
to  me.     (I) 

2.  Marion  looked  at  his  sister.     He  nodded,     (j) 

3.  This  has  been  one  of  the  warmest  days  of  the  summer. 
Of  that  there  can  be  no  doubt,     (e) 

4.  The  winter  was  now  coming  on.    I  had  to  complete  my 
house  very  rapidly.     (/) 

5.  He  determined  to  make  the  visit.     He  had  to  borrow 
money  to  pay  his  way.     (h) 

6.  Goldsmith  was  not  well  supplied  with  money.    Johnson 
had  no  more,     (k) 

7.  I  stayed  out  under  the  tree  a  quarter  of  an  hour  longer. 
I  knew  I  should  get  wet.     (i) 

8.  They  wrap  the  trunk  and  boughs  in  woolen  cloth.    The 
severity  of  the  winter  might  kill  the  tree,     (g,  d) 

9.  They  came  at  length  to  the  very  top  of  the  hill.     They 
had  a  fine  prospect  of  the  surrounding  country.     (7) 

10.  I  made  haste  to  scramble  to  my  feet.  I  could  see  who 
the  newcomer  was.  (/,  g,  d) 

Skill  in  making  the  various  kinds  of  transforma- 
tions or  substitutions  that  have  now  been  spoken  of, 
and  skill  in  making  and  selecting  the  three  kinds  of 
sentences,  will  do  something  toward  giving  one's 
writing  ease  and  variety  in  form  of  expression.  A 


88  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

good  deal  of  practice  in  these  substitutions  and  in 
sentence  formation  is  necessary  to  the  making  of  a 
good  writer.  The  ignorant  or  unskillful  writer  writes 
tiresome  and  monotonous  sentences,  mostly  com- 
pound, or  else  very  short,  simple  sentences.  Learn 
to  say  much  in  simple  sentences  by  using  modifiers  ; 
and  learn  to  write  complex  sentences  easily.  Study 
the  table  of  conjunctions,  and  use  the  different  kinds 
as  they  are  required,  so  that  you  will  not  overwork 
the  conjunction  "  and."  (See  pages  54-56.) 

Exercise  50.  Combination  of  short  statements  into  good 
paragraphs. 

EXAMPLE  OF  SHORT  SENTENCES  TO  BE  COMBINED:  — 
Washington  was  elected  general  of  the  army.  He  was  at 
this  time  forty-three  years  of  age.  In  stature  he  a  little  ex- 
ceeded six  feet.  His  limbs  were  sinewy  and  well  proportioned. 
His  chest  was  broad.  His  figure  was  stately.  It  had  dignity  of 
presence.  It  had  ease  of  manner.  His  constitution  was  robust. 
It  had  been  tried  and  invigorated  by  his  early  life  in  the  wilder- 
ness. It  had  been  tried  and  invigorated  by  his  habit  of  oc- 
cupation out  of  doors.  Also  by  his  rigid  temperance.  In 
consequence  of  these  facts  few  equaled  him  in  strength  of 
arm.  Few  equaled  him  in  power  of  endurance.  His  com- 
plexion was  florid.  His  hair  was  dark  brown.  His  head  was 
in  its  shape  perfectly  round.  .  .  .  His  eyes  were  dark  blue. 
They  were  deeply  set.  They  had  an  expression  of  resigna- 
tion. They  had  an  earnestness  that  was  almost  sad. 

EXAMPLE  OF  COMBINATION  :  — 
(Description  of  the  appearance  of  George  Washington.) 

When  Washington  was  elected  general  of  the  army  he  was 
forty-three  years  of  age.  In  stature  he  a  little  exceeded  six 
feet ;  his  limbs  were  sinewy  and  well  proportioned ;  his  chest 


SENTENCE-FORMS  89 

broad,  his  figure  stately,  blending  dignity  of  presence  with  ease 
of  manner.  His  robust  constitution  had  been  tried  and  in- 
vigorated by  his  early  life  in  the  wilderness,  his  habit  of 
occupation  out  of  doors,  and  his  rigid  temperance ;  so  that  few 
equaled  him  in  strength  of  arm  or  power  of  endurance.  His 
complexion  was  florid,  his  hair  dark  brown,  his  head  in  its 
shape  perfectly  round.  .  .  .  His  dark  blue  eyes,  which  were 
deeply  set,  had  an  expression  of  resignation  and  earnestness  that 
was  almost  sad.  —  GEORGE  BANCROFT. 

Combine  the  following,  sentences  into  well-written 
paragraphs,  making  the  proper  headings  and  under- 
scoring the  topic  sentences:  — 

(a)  I  had  my  own  little  sled.  It  was  filled  with  hay, 
It  was  covered  with  reindeer  skins.  These  things  were  to 
keep  me  warm.  So  long  as  the  weather  was  not  too  cold,  it 
was  very  pleasant  to  speed  along.  I  sped  through  the  dark 
forests.  I  sped  over  the  frozen  rivers.  Or  I  went  past  farm 
after  farm  in  the  sheltered  valleys.  I  went  up  hill  and  down. 
I  rode  until  long  after  the  stars  came  out.  It  was  very  pleas- 
ant then  to  get  a  warm  supper. 

(6)  When  Sir  Roger  is  diverting  himself  in  the  woods  or 
the  fields,  I  have  a  companion  at  the  house.  He  is  a  venerable 
man.  He  is  always  at  Sir  Roger's.  He  has  lived  at  his 
house  over  thirty  years.  He  is  Sir  Roger's  chaplain.  This 
gentleman  is  a  person  of  good  sense.  He  is  a  man  of  some 
learning.  He  lives  a  very  regular  life.  His  conversation  is 
obliging.  He  heartily  loves  Sir  Roger.  He  knows  he  is  very 
much  in  Sir  Roger's  esteem. 

(c)  On  the  other  side  of  the  high  town  the  houses  stand 
closer.  Yet  they  leave  the  same  space  for^a  little  walk.  This 
walk  is  shaded  by  sycamores.  From  it  one  looks  down  on  the 
whole  southern  reach  of  the  lake.  The  lake  opens  wide  to  the 
horizon.  It  is  edged  there  like  the  sea.  But  in  the  summer 
sunshine  it  looks  like  a  well  of  blue.  This  well  of  blue  looks 
as  if  it  was  what  the  sunbeams  drank  to  make  the  sky  of. 


CHAPTER  VII 

NARRATION 

ONE  who  writes  an  account  of  the  real  or  imagi- 
nary events  or  happenings  which  a  narrative  con- 
tains, must  have  in  mind  two  points :  — 

First,  these  events  or  happenings  must  in  some 
way  be  connected,  that  is,  they  must  all  be  thought 
of  either  as  having  chiefly  to  do  with  some  one  per- 
son, or  as  having  occurred  at  certain  places,  or  as 
relating  to  some  one  idea  or  plan. 

Second,  these  events  or  happenings  must  be  told 
in  some  intended  order,  which  should  be  definitely 
thought  out  beforehand  by  the  writer. 

Both  these  points  (unity  and  plan)  are  what  we 
must  chiefly  keep  in  view  when  we  study  the  out- 
lining of  a  narrative.  Let  us  bear  in  mind  that  out- 
lining always  means  grouping,  that  is,  getting  the 
minor  points  in  a  composition  arranged  under  head- 
ings. We  can  grasp  and  carry  in  mind  a  small 
number  of  headings  or  main  topics  much  better  than 
we  can  a  large  number  of  coordinate  minor  topics. 
In  addition  to  the  advantages  of  plan,  unity,  and 
completeness,  this  is  another  reason  why  it  is  helpful 
to  make  outlines.  It  is  like  putting  twenty  or  thirty 

90 


NARRATION  91 

small  packages  into  two  or  three  baskets  ;  in  that 
way  they  are  much  more  easily  carried. 

Now,  how  can  we  find  headings  under  which  to 
group  the  minor  events  of  a  narrative  ?  Suppose 
there  are  thirty  events  or  happenings  to  be  told,  how 
can  they  be  grouped  ?  There  are  three  principal 
sorts  of  head  topics  under  which  the  events  of  a  story 
may  be  grouped  :  — 

1.  Periods, 

2.  Places, 

3.  Chief  events. 

We  may  divide  the  whole  narrative  into' sections 
or  periods  of  time.  Thus  the  events  of  Longfellow's 
life  may  be  grouped  under  these  headings  :  (a)  Period 
of  childhood  and  education,  1807-1825.  (b)  Period 
of  early  travel  in  Europe,  1825-1829.  (c)  Period  of 
professorship  at  Bowdoin,  1829-1835.  (d)  Period  of 
professorship  at  Cambridge,  1835-1882.  In  out- 
lining a  man's  life l  by  periods,  do  not  use  common- 
place headings,  which  might  be  used  for  any  man's 
life,  such  as  "  boyhood,"  "  manhood,"  "  old  age." 
After  the  words  "  period  of  "  put,  in  each  case,  words 
showing  the  character  of  the  period  in  that  particular 
narrative.  To  illustrate  the  method  of  periods  from 
a  work  of  fiction,  the  events  of  the  story  of  Evan- 

1  In  outlining  the  life  of  a  man  we  may  use  (as  one  form  of  division 
by  periods)  the  man's  successive  occupations.  Thus,  to  illustrate  from 
Milton's  life  we  might  use  the  headings  :  (a)  Milton's  life  as  schoolboy 
and  college  youth,  1608-1632.  (6)  His  earlier  life  as  poet,  1632-1641. 
(c)  His  life  as  political  writer  and  essayist,  1641-1660.  (d)  His  life  as 
writer  of  epic  poems,  1660-1674. 


92  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

geline  may  be  grouped  under :  (a)  Period  of  love. 
(b)  Period  of  hope  and  search,  (c)  Period  of  despair. 
Or,  the  story  of  Rip  Van  Winkle  may  be  divided 
into :  (a)  Period  of  idleness,  (b)  Period  of  sojourn 
in  the  mountains,  (c)  Period  of  renewed  life  in  the 
village. 

Exercise  51.  Outlining  by  periods. — Read  carefully 
the  following  summary  of  the  life  of  Lincoln,  then  out- 
line it,  using  periods  for  main  headings :  — 

Abraham  Lincolu — born  in  Hardin  County,  Kentucky,  1809 
—  when  Lincoln  was  eight,  his  father  moved  to  Indiana  — 
region  then  a  wilderness  —  schools  very  rare  —  boy  grew  up 
in  pioneer  life  —  learned  to  read,  write,  and  cipher  —  at  nine- 
teen Lincoln  went  on  a  flatboat  to  New  Orleans  as  a  hired 
hand  —  in  1830  family  moved  to  Macon  County,  Illinois  — 
Lincoln  hired  out  as  a  hand  and  later  as  a  clerk  in  a  country 
store  —  borrowed  a  grammar  and  other  books  —  volunteered 
in  the  Black  Hawk  Indian  War  —  studied  surveying  — 1834 
elected  to  state  legislature  —  studied  law  —  reflected  several 
times  —  practiced  law  —  married  1842  —  elected  one  term  to 
Congress  1846  —  made  many  antislavery  speeches  from  1854 
on  — 1860  nominated  and  elected  for  the  presidency  —  directed 
the  movements  of  the  war  —  issued  Emancipation  Proclama- 
tion 1863  —  reflected  as  President  —  witnessed  end  of  war  — 
assassinated,  1865,  by  Wilkes  Booth. 

Exercise  52.  Writing  from  outline.  —  Using  your  out- 
line of  the  above  summary,  (a)  tell  orally,  in  complete 
sentences,  the  life  of  Lincoln;  (&)  write  a  brief  life  of 
Lincoln,  paragraphing  with  care,  and  introducing  all 
the  particulars  given. 

In  outlining  by  places,  which  is  not  always  pos- 
sible, we  have  to  group  merely  according  to  the 


NARRATION  93 

chief  scenes  of  the  events.  Thus,  in  outlining  the 
life  of  Longfellow,  we  might  use  these  headings :  — 

(a)  Life  in  Maine,  (b)  In  Europe,  (c)  At  Bow- 
doin  College,  (d)  At  Cambridge,  Massachusetts. 

The  life  of  Shakspere  is  easily  outlined  by  places :  — 

(a)  Life  in  Stratford,  1564-1586.  (b)  In  London, 
1586-1611.  (c)  Last  years  at  Stratford,  1611-1616. 

Or,  in  outlining  Shakspere' s  play,  The  Merchant 
of  Venice  (see  Lamb's  Tales  from  Shakspere  for  the 
story,  which  may  well  be  used  as  a  reading  lesson), 
we  might  group  the  events  under  :  — 

(a)  In  Venice  (the  bond  given ;  Jessica's  elope- 
ment), (b)  At  Belmont  (the  three  suitors  and  the 
caskets  ;  the  news  of  Antonio's  losses),  (c) .  In  the 
Court  of  Justice,  Venice  (Shylock  punished),  (d) 
Closing  scenes  at  Belmont. 

Exercise  53.  Outlining  a  narrative  by  places.  —  Group 
the  minor  incidents  in  the  following  story  under  head- 
ings that  indicate  places.  After  the  outline  is  made, 
reproduce  the  story  orally,  following  the  outline. 

JOHN   GILPIN'S   RIDE 

John  Gilpin  was  a  citizen  of  credit  and  renown ; 

A  train-band  captain  eke  was  he  of  famous  London  town. 

John  Gilpin's  spouse  said  to  her  dear,  "  Though  wedded  we 

have  been 
These  twice  ten  tedious  years,  yet  we  no  holiday  have  seen. 

"  To-morrow  is  our  wedding  day,  and  we  will  then  repair 
Unto  the  Bell  at  Edmonton,  all  in  a  chaise  and  pair. 
My  sister  and  my  sister's  child,  myself  and  children  three, 
Will  fill  the  chaise ;  so  you  must  ride  on  horseback  after  we." 


94  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

He  soon  replied,  "  I  do  admire  of  womankind  but  one, 
And  you  are  she,  my  dearest  dear,  therefore  it  shall  be  done. 
I  am  a  linen  draper  bold,  as  all  the  world  doth  know ; 
And  my  good  friend  the  calender  will  lend  his  horse  to  go." 

Quoth  Mrs.  Gil  pin,  "  That's  well  said ;  and,  for  that  wine  is  dear, 
We  will  be  furnished  with  our  own,  which  is  both  bright  and 

clear." 

John  Gilpin  kissed  his  loving  wife ;  o'erjoyed  was  he  to  find 
That,  though  on  pleasure  she  was  bent,  she  had  a  frugal  mind. 

The  morning  came,  the  chaise  was  brought,  but  yet  was  not 

allowed 

To  drive  up  to  the  door,  lest  all  should  say  that  she  was  proud. 
So  three  doors  off  the  chaise  was  stayed,  where  they  did  all  get 

in; 
Six   precious   souls,  and  all  agog  to  dash  through  thick  and 

thin. 

Smack  went  the  whip,  round  went  the  wheels ;  were  never  folks 

so  glad ; 

The  stones  did  rattle  underneath,  as  if  Cheapside  were  mad. 
John  Gilpin  at  his  horse's  side  seized  fast  the  flowing  mane, 
And  up  he  got,  in  haste  to  ride,  but  soon  came  down  again. 

For  saddle-tree  scarce  reached  had  he,  his  journey  to  begin, 
When,  turning  round  his  head,  he  saw  three  customers  come  in. 
So  down  he  came ;  for  loss  of  time,  although  it  grieved  him  sore, 
Yet  loss  of  pence,  full  well  he  knew,  would  trouble  him  much 
more. 

'Twas  long  before  the  customers  were  suited  to  their  mind, 
When  Betty,  screaming,  came  down  stairs,  "The  wine  is  left 

behind ! " 
"  Good  lack ! "  quoth  he ;  "  yet  bring  it  me,  my  leathern  belt 

likewise, 
In  which  I  bear  my  trusty  sword  when  I  do  exercise." 


NARRATION  95 

Now  Mrs.  Gilpin  (careful  soul !)  had  two  stone  bottles  found, 
To  hold  the  liquor  that  she  loved,  and  keep  it  safe  and  sound. 
Each  bottle  had  a  curling  ear,  through  which  the  belt  he  drew, 
And  hung  a  bottle  on  each  side,  to  make  his  balance  true. 

Then  over  all,  that  he  might  be  equipped  from  top  to  toe, 

His  long  red  cloak,  well  brushed  and  neat,  he  manfully  did 

throw. 

Now  see  him  mounted  once  again  upon  his  nimble  steed, 
Full  slowly  pacing  o'er  the  stones  with  caution  and  good  heed. 

But  finding  soon  a  smoother  road  beneath  his  well-shod  feet, 
The  snorting  beast  began  to  trot,  which  galled  him  in  his  seat. 
So,  "Fair  and  softly,"  John  he  cried,  but  John  he  cried  in 

vain; 
The  trot  became  a  gallop  soon,  in  spite  of  curb  and  rein. 

So,  stooping  down,  as  needs  he  must,  who  cannot  sit  upright, 
He  grasped  the  mane  with  both  his  hands,  and  eke  with  all  his 

might. 

His  horse,  which  never  in  that  sort  had  handled  been  before, 
What  thing  upon  his  back  had  got  did  wonder  more  and  more. 

Away  went  Gilpin,  neck  or  naught ;  away  went  hat  and  wig ; 
He  little  dreamed  when  he  set  out  of  running  such  a  rig. 
The  wind  did  blow,  the  cloak  did  fly  like  streamer  long  and 

gay, 

Till,  loop  and  button  failing  both,  at  last  it  flew  away. 
•>. 

Then  might  all  people  well  discern  the  bottles  he  had  slung ; 
A  bottle  swinging  at  each  side,  as  hath  been  said  or  sung. 
The  dogs  did  bark,  the  children  screamed,  up  flew  the  windows 

all, 
And  every  soul  cried  out,  "  Well  done ! "  as  loud  as  he  could 

bawl. 


96  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

Away  went  Gilpin,  who  but  he !  his  fame  soon  spread  around ; 
"He  carries  weight!     He  rides  a  race!    'Tis  for  a  thousand 

pound !  " 

And  still,  as  fast  as  he  drew  near,  'twas  wonderful  to  view 
How  in  a  trice  the  turnpike  men  their  gates  wide  open  threw. 

And  now,  as  he  went  bowing  down  his  reeking  head  full  low, 
The  bottles  twain,  behind  his  back,  were  shattered  at  a  blow. 
Down  ran  the  wine  into  the  road,  most  piteous  to  be  seen, 
Which  made  his  horse's  flanks  to  smoke  as  they  had  basted 
been. 

Bat  still  he  seemed  to  carry  weight,  with  leathern  girdle  braced, 
For  all  might  see  the  bottle  necks  still  dangling  at  his  waist. 
Thus  all  through  merry  Islington  these  gambols  he  did  play, 
And  till  he  came  unto  the  Wash  of  Edmonton  so  gay. 

And  there  he  threw  the  wash  about  on  both  sides  of  the  way. 
Just  like  unto  a  trundling  mop,  or  a  wild  goose  at  play. 
At  Edmonton  his  loving  wife  from  the  balcony  spied 
Her  tender  husband,  wondering  much  to  see  how  he  did  ride. 

"  Stop,  stop,  John  Gilpin  !  Here's  the  house ! "  they  all  at  once 

did  cry ; 

"  The  dinner  waits,  and  we  are  tired  !  "  Said  Gilpin,  "  So  am  I !  " 
But  yet  his  horse  was  not  a  whit  inclined  to  tarry  there ; 
For  why  ?  his  owner  had  a  house,  full  ten  miles  off,  at  Ware. 

So  like  an  arrow  swift  he  flew,  shot  by  an  archer  strong ; 
So  did  he  fly  — which  brings  me  to  the  middle  of  my  song. 
Away  went  Gilpin,  out  of  breath,  and  sore  against  his  will, 
Till  at  his  friend  the  calender's  his  horse  at  last  stood  still. 

The  calender,  amazed  to  see  his  neighbor  in  such  trim, 
Laid  down  his  pipe,  flew  to  the  gate,  and  thus  accosted  him  : 
"What  news?   what  news?    your  tidings  tell;    tell  me  you 

must  and  shall ; 
Say  why  bareheaded  you  are  come,  or  why  you  come  at  all  ?  " 


NARRATION  97 

Now  Gilpiu  had  a  pleasant  wit,  and  loved  a  timely  joke ; 
And  thus  unto  the  calender  in  merry  guise  he  spoke : 
"I  came  because  your  horse  would  come:  and,  if  I  well  fore- 
bode, 
My  hat  and  wig  will  soon  be  here,  they  are  upon  the  road." 

The  calender,  right  glad  to  find  his  friend  in  merry  pin, 
Returned  him  not  a  single  word,  but  to  the  house  went  in ; 
Whence  straight  he  came  with  hat  and  wig  —  a  wig  that  flowed 

behind, 
A  hat  not  much  the  worse  for  wear,  each  comely  in  its  kind. 

He  held  them  up,  and  in  his  turn  thus  showed  his  ready  wit, — 
"  My  head  is  twice  as  big  as  yours ;  they  therefore  needs  must 

fit. 

But  let  me  scrape  the  dirt  away  that  hangs  upon  your  face ; 
And  stop  and  eat,  for  well  you  may  be  in  a  hungry  case." 

Said  John,  "  It  is  my  wedding  day,  and  all  the  world  would 

stare 

If  wife  should  dine  at  Edmonton  and  I  should  dine  at  Ware." 
So,  turning  to  his  horse  he  said,  "  I  am  in  haste  to  dine : 
'Twas  for  your  pleasure  you  came  here,  you  shall  go  back  for 

mine." 

Ah,  luckless  speech  and  bootless  boast !  for  which  he  paid  full 

dear ; 
For,  while  he  spoke,  a  braying  ass  did  sing  most   loud   and 

clear ; 

Whereat  his  horse  did  snort,  as  he  had  heard  a  lion  roar, 
And  galloped  off  with  all  his  might,  as  he  had  done  before. 

Away  went  Gilpin,  and  away  went  Gilpin's  hat  and  wig  : 

He  lost   them  sooner  than  the  first ;    for  why  ?  —  they  were 

too  big. 

Now  Mrs.  Gilpin,  when  she  saw  her  husband  posting  down 
Into  the  country  far  away,  she  pulled  out  half  a  crown ; 

WRIT.     IN    KN<;.  7 


98  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

And  thus  unto  the  youth  she  said,  that  drove  them  to  the  Bell, 
"  This  shall  be  yours,  when  you  bring  back  my  husband  safe 

and  well." 
The  youth  did  ride,  and  soon  did  meet  John  coming   back 

amain, 
Whom  in  a  trice  he  tried  to  stop,  by  catching  at  his  rein ; 

But  not  performing  what  he  meant,  and  gladly  would  have 

done, 
The  frightened  steed  he  frightened  more,  and  made  him  faster 

run. 

Away  went  Gilpin,  and  away  went  postboy  at  his  heels ; 
The  postboy's  horse  right  glad  to  miss  the  lumbering  of  the 

wheels. 

Six  gentlemen  upon  the  road  thus  seeing  Gilpin  fly, 

With  postboy  scampering  in  the  rear,  they  raised  the  hue  and 

cry : 
"Stop    thief!     stop    thief!    a   highwayman!"  —not   one  of 

them  was  mute, 
And  all  and  each  that  passed  that  way  did  join  in  the  pursuit. 

And  now  the  turnpike  gates  again  flew  open  in  short  space, 
The  tollmen  thinking  as  before  that  Gilpin  rode  a  race. 
And  so  he  did,  and  won  it  too,  for  he  got  first  to  town, 
Nor  stopped  till  where  he  had  got  up  he  did  again  get  down. 

Now  let  us  sing,  "  Long  live  the  king,"  and  Gilpin,  long  live 

he, 
And  when  he  next  doth  ride  abroad  may  I  be  there  to  see. 

WILLIAM  COWPER. 

Finally,  in  outlining  by  chief  events,  we  select  for 
headings  those  few  turning  points  in  the  narrative, 
on  which  many  minor  events  and  details  hinge  or 


NARRATION  99 

depend.  Thus,  to  outline  the  life  of  Franklin  (1706- 
1790),  we  might  use  the  headings:  — 

(a)  Franklin  learns  printing  in  Boston,  1718.  (b) 
He  goes  to  Philadelphia,  1723.  (c)  Publishes  the 
first  Poor  Richard's  Almanac,  1732.  (d)  Goes  to 
London  as  colonial  representative,  1757.  (e)  Is 
chosen  an  American  representative  to  Paris,  1776. 

Or,  to  outline  a  narrative  poem  by  chief  events, 
we  may  take  for  illustration  Paul  Revere  s  Hide 
(see  Longfellow's  Tales  of  a  Wayside  Inn) :  — 

I.  Introduction  —  the  subject  of  the  tale 

II.  Body  of  the  narrative 

(a)  Paul  Revere  arranges  to  be  signaled  from  the 

church  tower 

1.  Signals  are  agreed  upon 

2.  Revere  sets  out 

3.  His  friend  learns  of  the  intended  march 

of  the  British 

(b)  The  friend  climbs  the  tower 

1.  Sees  from  there  the  British  troops  set- 

ting forth 

2.  Revere  waits  impatiently  in  Charlestown 

3.  The  signal  is  given 

(c)  The  ride  begins 

1.  He  reaches  Medford 

2.  He  passes  through  Lexington 

3.  He  arouses  Concord 

III.  Conclusion  —  the  results  of  that  ride 


100  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

Caution  must  be  taken,  in  using  this  last  method, 
that  each  head  topic  is  an  event  or  occurrence.  Do 
not  fall  into  the  error  of  mingling  in  one  outline  two 
or  all  of  the  three  methods  we  are  considering 
(periods,  places,  chief  events).  Keep  the  three 
entirely  distinct.  Decide  which  method  you  purpose 
using  in  an  outline,  and  then  keep  to  it  strictly. 
Also  in  using  any  method  state  all  your  main  topics 
in  a  similar  form,  whether  that  of  brief  sentences,  or 
that  of  nouns  with  modifiers. 

Exercise  54.  Outlining  of  narrative  poems.  —  (a)  Out- 
line in  a  similar  way  at  least  two  of  the  following 
poems  either  by  "  chief  events  "  or  by  "periods  " ;  (&)  then 
tell  or  write  the  stories,  using  your  outlines  as  guides :  — 

King  Robert  of  Sicily       .  .  H.  W.  Longfellow 

The  Skeleton  in  Armor     .  .  H.  W.  Longfellow 

The  Bell  of  Atri  .  .  H.  W.  Longfellow 

The  Ballad  of  Carmilhan  .  H.  W.  Longfellow 

The  Falcon  of  Ser  Federigo  .  H.  W.  Longfellow 

The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal  .  J.  R.  Lowell 

(For  this  purpose  omit  the  preludes.) 

Herve  Riel  .  .  Robert  Browning 

The  Pied  Piper  of  Hamelin  .  Robert  Browning 

Maud  Muller  .  .  J.  G.  Whittier 

The  Garrison  of  Cape  Ann  .  J.  G.  Whittier  . 

Horatius  at  the  Bridge    .  .  T.  B.  Macaulay 

Alice  Brand  .  .  Sir  Walter  Scott 

Lady  Clare  .  .  A.  Tennyson 

The  Passing  of  Arthur    .  .  A.  Tennyson 

Dora  .  .  A.  Tennyson 

Lord  Ullin's  Daughter     .  .  T.  Campbell 

Bishop  Hatto  .  .  R.  Southey 

The  Prisoner  of  Chillon  .  .  Lord  Byron 


NARRATION  101 

Sir  Patrick  Spens  .         .         Old  ballad 

Sir  Hugh  (Hugh  of  Lincoln)  .         Old  ballad 
Bewick  and  Grahame       .         .         Old  ballad 
(See  the  title  Ballads,  in  Appendix  V.) 

Exercise  55.  —  Outline  some  prose  story  you  have  read 
lately,  by  "  periods  "  and  then  by  "  chief  events,"  in  each 
case  putting  in  the  minor  events;  then  compare  the  two 
outlines  and  decide  which  is  preferable  for  that  story. 

Using  your  outline  as  a  guide,  reproduce,  orally  or  in 
writing,  the  story. 

Stories  suitable  for  use  in  this  exercise  may  be  found  in  such 
books  as  the  following :  — 

A  Wonder  Book  .  .  Nath.  Hawthorne 

Twice-Told  Tales  .  .  Nath.  Hawthorne 

The  Age  of  Fable  .  .  Thomas  Bulfinch 

Tales  from  Shakspere  .  .  Charles  and  Mary  Lamb 

Tales  of  a  Traveler  .  .  Washington  Irving 

Christmas  Stories  .  .  Charles  Dickens 

In  Ole  Virginia  .  .  Thomas  N.  Page 

Main  Traveled  Koads  .  .  Hamlin  Garland 

Van  Bibber  and  Other  Stories  Richard  H.  Davis 

Exercise  56.  Outlining  a  biography.  —  Outline  the  life 
of  some  American  by  (<  places,"  or  by  "  chief  events,"  intro- 
ducing the  more  important  details  of  his  life  as  subtopics. 

Construction  of  narratives.  —  When  we  write  a  nar- 
rative, there  are  four  sorts  of  reasons  why  our  readers 
may  be  interested :  (a)  The  events  themselves,  and 
the  order  in  which  they  are  told,  in  other  words,  what 
we  call  the  story  or  plot,  may  be  a  source  of  interest ; 
(b)  The  characters  of  the  persons  in  the  narrative 
may  be  interesting ;  (c)  The  scene  or  scenes  of  the 


1-0-2  .W.RTJtNG  IN   ENGLISH 

events  (what  may  be  called  the  background  or  setting 
of  the  principal  figures  and  events)  may  be  interest- 
ing ;  and  (d)  In  the  works  of  able  and  excellent 
writers,  the  style  of  the  writing,  that  is,  the  language 
used,  and  the  personal  qualities  of  the  writer  as 
shown  in  what  he  says,  should  be  no  small  source  of 
interest  and  pleasure.  To  repeat,  then,  good  nar- 
ratives are  enjoyed  on  account  of :  — 

1.  The  style:  — 

The  language  used  may  be  clear,  smooth,  and 
musical,  equal  to  all  demands  upon  it  for  the  expres- 
sion and  suggestion  of  emotions. 

The  writing  may  contain  wit,  humor,  sympathy, 
pathos,  wisdom,  acuteness. 

2.  The  scenes  or  setting :  — 

Which  may  be  interesting  because  of  familiarity, 
or  of  strangeness ;  of  beauty,  or  of  sadness  and  horror. 

3.  The  characters,  which  may  be   interesting  be- 
cause they  are :  — 

Made  to  seem  lifelike, 

Shown  as  resourceful,  heroic,  and  admirable, 
Shown  as  contemptible,  or  unfortunate,  or 
Made  comical  or  entertaining. 

4.  The  plot  or  story,  which  may  be  interesting  be- 
cause of :  — 

The  strangeness  or  extraordinariness  of  the  events, 
The  element  of  mystery, 


NARRATION  103 

Our  natural  sympathy  with  characters  placed  in 
the  particular  situation  described,  in  which  they  have 
difficulties  to  overcome  and  ends  to  accomplish,  or, 

The  working  out  of  some  plan  or  idea. 

As  far  as  the  plot  alone  is  concerned,  it  may  be 
said  that  the  element  of  mystery  is  what  chiefly  in- 
terests us  in  ghost  stories  and  in  detective  stories ; 
the  element  of  strangeness  or  remarkableness,  in 
adventure  stories,  stories  of  travel,  or  comic  stories  ; 
and  the  elements  of  natural  sympathy  and  curiosity,  in 
stories  of  difficulties  overcome  or  of  success  achieved, 
as  in  stories  of  undertakings,  or  of  events  that  work 
out  definite  consequences. 

In  reading  a  work  of  fiction,  we  should  think 
about  all  four  of  the  sources  of  interest  given  in  the 
table  above.  By  so  doing  we  not  only  shall  get  much 
more  enjoyment  out  of  what  we  read,  but  shall  become 
able  to  form  intelligent  opinions  of  books  and  able  to 
give  reasons  for  liking  them  or  disliking  them,  in 
whole  or  in  part. 

Exercise  57.  Study  of  interest. —  Using  the  above  out- 
line, think  carefully  over  some  story  you  are  familiar 
with,  chosen  by  yourself  or  by  the  teacher,  and  write 
clown  the  reasons  for  its  being  interesting  to  you. 
(.Z)  Under  the  head  of  style,  write  ivhether  the  book  or 
story  has,  in  your  opinion,  any  of  the  qualities  named 
in  the  outline.  (2~)  State  what  the  setting  or  background 
of  the  events  is,  and  for  what  reasons  it  is  interesting. 
(3}  State  which  of  the  characters  are  interesting,  and 
why.  (4)  State  for  what  reasons,  given  in  the  table 
above,  the  plot  is  interesting. 


104  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

Exercise  58.  Study  of  interest.  —  Write  a  list  of  five 
narratives  or  stories  (in  prose  or  verse)  which  you  have 
read,  and  under  the  name  of  each  write  the  reason  or 
reasons  ivhy  the  plot  is  interesting,  ivhy  one  of  the  char- 
acters is  interesting,  and  why  the  setting  or  scene  is 
interesting. 

Exercise  59.  Narration  from  picture.  —  Think  out  a 
story  suggested  by  the  picture  on  page  105,  make  an 
outline,  and  write  the  story,  seeking  to  make  it  inter- 
esting by  reason  of  the  scenes,  tlw  characters,  and  the 
events. 

Brief  narratives  or  anecdotes  are  usually  interest- 
ing because  of  the  nature  of  the  events,  or  because 
of  some  point  they  illustrate,  whether  comical  or 
serious.  But  even  in  these  the  interestingness  of 
characters  and  of  scenes  should  not  be  lost  sight  of. 

Exercise  60.  Anecdotes.  —  Bring  to  class  two  anecdotes, 
or  interesting  brief  narratives,  found  by  you  in  a  news- 
paper or  elseiuhere.  (a)  Write  down,  referring  to  the  out- 
line we  have  been  studying,  the  reasons  for  the  selection's 
being  interesting.  (&)  Tell  the  anecdotes  orally. 

Exercise  61.  Anecdotes  and  historical  sketches  from 
summaries. 

MODELS    FOR    STUDY 

(a)    The    Sphinx.      (From    The   Age    of   Fable,   by   Thomas 
Bulfinch.) 

Shortly  after  this  event,  the  city  of  Thebes  was  afflicted 
with  a  monster  which  infested  the  highroad.  It  was  called 
the  Sphinx.  It  had  the  body  of  a  lion,  and  the  upper  part  of 
a  woman.  It  lay  crouched  on  the  top  of  a  rock,  and  arrested 
all  travelers  who  came  that  way,  proposing  to  them  a  riddle, 


106  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

with  the  condition  that  those  who  could  solve  it  should  pass 
safe,  but  those  who  failed  should  be  killed.  Not  one  had  yet 
succeeded  in  solving  it,  and  all  had  been  slain.  CEdipus  was 
not  daunted  by  these  alarming  accounts,  but  boldly  advanced 
to  the  trial.  The  Sphinx  asked  him,  "What  animal  is  that 
which  in  the  morning  goes  on  four  feet,  at  noon  on  two,  and  in 
the  evening  upon  three  ?  "  QMipus  replied,  "  Man,  who  in 
childhood  creeps  on  hands  and  knees,  in  manhood  walks  erect, 
and  in  old  age  with  the  aid  of  a  staff."  The  Sphinx  was  so 
mortified  at  the  solving  of  her  riddle  that  she  cast  herself 
down  from  the  rock  and  perished. 

(6)   Perry's  Victory.    (From  Eggleston's  History  of  the  United 
States.) 

A  little  fleet  was  launched  on  Lake  Erie  in  1813,  and  its 
officers  and  men  were  anxious  to  rival  the  glory  of  the  American 
ships  at  sea.  In  the  battle  of  Lake  Erie,  fought  this  year, 
Commodore  Perry  hung  up  for  his  signal,  "  Don't  give  up  the 
ship !  "  the  dying  words  of  Lawrence.  When  his  flagship  was 
riddled  and  disabled  by  the  enemy,  he  got  into  a  small  boat  and 
was  rowed  to  another  vessel,  standing  upright  while  the  enemy 
was  raining  shot  about  him.  Reaching  the  ship  Niagara,  he 
sailed  down  on  the  British  line  and  broke  it,  and  at  length 
compelled  the  whole  fleet  to  surrender.  At  the  close  of  the 
battle,  Perry  wrote  to  General  Harrison,  "We  have  met  the 
enemy,  and  they  are  ours." 

Write  out  or  tell  orally  the  stories  suggested  in  these 
sum/maries,  seeking  to  interest  your  readers,  not  only  by 
the  nature  of  the  incidents,  but  also  by  the  characters  of 
the  personages,  and  by  the  description  of  an  attractive  or 
unusual  scene  or  setting :  — 

(a)  Legend  of  William  Tell.  The  Swiss  ordered  to  toss 
their  caps  in  the  air  at  sight  of  Gessler,  the  Austrian  —  Tell 
refuses  —  is  arrested  —  is  found  to  be  renowned  as  a  skillful 


NARRATION  107 

archer  —  is  made  by  Gessler  to  shoot  at  an  apple  which  is 
placed  on  the  head  of  Tell's  son — the  arrow  pierces  the  apple 

—  Tell  is  found  to  have  concealed   other   arrows   under   his 
coat  —  "  To  kill  thee,  tyrant,  had  I  slain  my  boy  !  " 

(6)  The  bundle  of  sticks.  Quarreling  brothers  —  father  can- 
not make  them  friendly  —  has  sons  try  to  break  bundle  of 
sticks  —  both  fail  —  then  bundle  is  undone — the  separate 
sticks  are  easily  broken  —  quarrelsome  brothers  are  like  sepa- 
rated sticks  —  in  union  there  is  strength. 

(c)  Tlie  hare  and  the  tortoise.     The  hare  makes  fun  of  the 
tortoise's  slowness  —  the  tortoise  offers  to  race  the  hare  —  the 
tortoise  starts  off  —  the  hare  laughs  at  the  idea  of  such  an 
easy  race  —  decides  to  take  a  nap  —  when  he  awakes  the  tor- 
toise has  reached  the  goal. 

(d)  A  retort.     Samuel  Foote  had  a  wooden  leg  —  a  person 
one  day  amused  himself  by  remarking  on  this  limb  —  Foote 
became  annoyed  —  at  last  he  said,  "Why  do  you  attack  me 
on  my  weakest  part?     I  never  said  anything  against  your 
head!" 

(e)  The,  Pilgrims.     They  move  from  England  to  Holland — 
decide  to  come  to  America  —  prepare   to   depart  —  ship,  the 
Mayflower — the  voyage — landing  in  December  —  settlement 
at  Plymouth  —  hardships  of  the  winter  —  why  we  remember 
the  Pilgrims. 

(/)  The  battle  of  Trenton.  Fifteen  hundred  hired  Hessian 
soldiers  stationed  at  Trenton  —  on  Christmas  night,  1776, 
Washington  crossed  the  Delaware — it  took  all  night  to  cross 

—  river  full  of  floating  ice  —  Hessians  stupefied   from  their 
drinking  and  reveling  of   the  night  before  —  they  were  sur- 
prised at  light  in  the  morning  —  a  thousand  taken  prisoners. 

(g)  Discovery  of  gold  in  California.  Existence  of  the  gold 
long  known  to  the  Indians  and  Mexicans  of  that  region  —  the 
discovery  on  the  Sacramento  in  1848  — the  rush  of  gold  seekers 
in  1849  —  dangers  of  the  long  journey  overland  or  by  way  of  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama  —  hard  and  dangerous  life  in  California  — 
the  result. 


108 


WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 


Exercise  62.  Writing  from  picture.  —  Write  a  story  sug- 
gested by  this  picture. 

In  writing  a  story  of  your  own,  if  it  is  a  true  story, 
it  is  not  worth  telling  unless  the  occurrences  are  more 
or  less  interesting.  If  the  characters  or  the  places 
are  also  interesting,  so  much  the  better.  A  great 
deal  depends  upon  the  way  the  story  is  begun.  It  is 
usual  to  suggest  in  the  first  few  sentences  or  in  the 
first  paragraph  the  setting  of  the  narrative  —  the 
time,  the  scene,  some  of  the  characters.  You  may 
bring  your  own  feelings  or  ideas  somewhat  into  the 
composition,  by  explanations  or  remarks,  humorous 
or  otherwise.  If  the  story  is  an  invented  one,  see 


NARRATION  109 

to  it  that,  for  some  of  the  reasons  we  have  been 
studying,  it  is  made  interesting.  Let  the  story  have 
a  center  of  interest,  and  let  the  incidents  lead  up  to 
the  situation  of  greatest  interest. 

Exercise  63.  Developing  original  narratives.  —  Write 
out  the  following  suggested  narratives,  or  ivrite  similar 
brief  narratives  from  subjects  chosen  by  yourself.  In- 
dent carefully  for  the  paragraphs,  and  mark-  in  each 
paragraph  the  topic  sentence.  In  writing  do  not  forget 
tlie  characters  and  the  scenes  or  surroundings,  as  sources 
of  interest. 

(a)  TJie  story  of  our  camping  out.  How  we  came  to  think 
of  it  —  who  talked  it  over  —  where  we  decided  to  go  —  what 
we  took  —  how  we  got  to  the  place  —  the  pitching  of  the  tent 

—  the  cooking  of  meals  —  what  we  all  did  —  incidents  —  the 
breaking  up  —  the  return. 

(6)   A  country  boy's  visit  to  the  city.      How  he  came  to  go 

—  getting  ready  —  catching  the  train  —  the  railway  journey  — 
what  he  first  saw  in  the  city  —  incidents  —  places  visited  — 
the  most  remarkable  sight  of  all  —  the  return  home. 

(c)   A  picnic  by  the  river.      The  company  —  the  preparations 

—  the  weather  —  how  the  members  of  the  party  got  to  the  river 

—  what  the  boys  did   during   the  morning  —  what  the   girls 
did  —  the  dinner  —  the  fishing  —  the  games  played — the  ride 
homeward. 

Exercise  64.  Reproductions. —  («0  Select  a  poem  men- 
tioned  in  the  list  in  Exercise  54,  one  that  you  have  not 
previously  reproduced,  and  develop  it  into  a  carefully 
written  story.  Avoid  the  language  of  the  poem;  merely 
tell  the  story  in  your  own  words. 

(#)  Select  a  story  told  in  one  of  the  books  named  in 
Exercise  55,  read  it  once  or  twice  very  carefully,  then 
write  from  memory  the  story,  imitating  the  language  of 
the  original  as  closely  as  you  can. 


110  WRITING   IN   ENGLISH 

Exercise  65.  Original  narration.  —  The  problem  is  to 
work  up  a  true  story,  known  to  you,  of  an  adventure. 
When  you  come  to  write  it,  you  will  have  to  describe  the 
scene  and  the  chief  characters  (not  all  at  first},  and  to  tell 
the  events  in  an  interesting  way. 

(a}  First,  prepare  a  careful  outline  of  the  entire  com- 
position, using  places  or  chief  events  or  periods  for  the 
headings. 

(&)  Write  the  story,  introducing  description  wherever 
necessary,  but  holding  to  your  outline  and  telling  the 
story  clearly  and  connectedly.  Attend  to  the  paragraph- 
ing. In  this  the  outline  will  guide  you. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

CLEARNESS    IN    WRITING 

THERE  is  no  use  in  writing  at  all  unless  you  make 
clear  what  you  have  to  say.  It  is  not  enough  to  write 
so  that  you  may  be  understood ;  you  ought  to  write 
so  that  you  cannot  be  misunderstood.  Language  is 
for  the  communication  of  ideas.  If  your  reader  does 
not  understand  what  you  meant  to  say,  there  is  no 
communication,  and  you  may  as  well  not  have  written. 
Therefore,  whatever  you  write,  write  clearly. 

Of  course,  no  one  can  write  clearly  without  think- 
ing clearly.  You  must  know  and  understand  com- 
pletely what  you  wish  to  say,  or  else  it  is  useless  for 
you  to  begin.  The  only  way  to  do  is  to  write  about 
what  you  know  and  understand.  Do  not  attempt 
subjects  that  are  difficult,  abstract,  or  unfamiliar. 
Take  simple,  easy,  and  above  all  near-at-hand  topics 
at  first,  topics  about  which  you  can  write  of  your  own 
knowledge ;  and  in  writing  upon  these  do  not  try  to 
utter  ideas  or  to  talk  about  supposed  facts  that  you 
do  not  comprehend.  For  instance,  avoid  all  such 
subjects  as  The  Ideal,  Fortune,  Virtue  and  Happiness, 
Miserliness,  Generosity ;  better  write  about  an  insect, 
or  a  plant,  or  an  old  chair,  or  something  you  saw  or 
did  last  week  or  yesterday,  things  upon  which  you 

111 


112  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

can  direct  your  five  senses  and  actually  learn  and 
know  something,  than  try  to  write  on  an  object  you 
have  never  seen  or  an  idea  nobody  can  ever  see,  a 
place  you  have  never  visited  or  a  feeling  you  never 
experienced.  Stuff  written  about  vague,  lofty,  or  far- 
off  themes  is  usually  lacking  both  in  clearness  and  in 
interest.  But  when  you  have  written  from  your  own 
knowledge  or  experience,  no  matter  how  common  and 
simple  the  subject,  your  writing  is  far  more  likely  to 
be  not  only  intelligible  but  readable. 

But  aside  from  understanding  precisely  what  you 
want  to  say,  there  are  some  difficulties  met  with  in 
the  use  of  language  itself;  and  to  learn  to  avoid  certain 
faults  in  sentence  making  will  do  much  to  secure 
clearness  in  all  that  you  write. 

I.  Lack  of  unity. —  In  the  first  place,  having  unity 
in  all  your  sentences  will  do  a  great  deal  toward 
making  them  clear.  We  have  studied  unity  in  Chap- 
ter IV,  so  we  need  say  no  more  about  it  here  than  to 
notice  that  when  two  or  more  ideas,  unconnected  in 
thought,  are  put  together  in  one  sentence,  the  effect 
is  confusing,  and  the  sentence  fails  to  express  any 
idea  with  sufficient  clearness.  Or,  when  a  number  of 
ideas,  connected  in  thought,  but  some  of  them  impor- 
tant and  some  unimportant,  are  strung  along  in  one 
sentence  full  of  "  ands,"  the  sentence  is  pretty  certain 
to  lack  clearness,  simply  because  it  does  not  emphasize 
the  really  important  idea,  but  offers  a  jumble  of 
several  ideas,  most  of  which  should  be  merely  modi- 
fiers. 


CLEARNESS  IN  WRITING  113 

For  examples  of  sentences  thus  lacking  in  unity 
and  clearness,  see  those  referred  to  in  Exercise  26. 

II.  Omitting  necessary  words.  —  To  omit  words  that 
are  necessary  to  the  sense  is  a  much  commoner  fault 
than  may  be  supposed. 

(a)  Sometimes  it  is  merely  a  matter  of  good  gram- 
mar, as  in  such  sentences  as  the  following  (further 
illustrations  are  given  in  Exercise  28,  and  in  Exercise 
129):  — 

1.  Such  mistakes  always  have  and  always  will  happen. 
(Good  English  requires  the  word  "  happened  "  after  "  have.") 

2.  He  knows  better  than  go  there. 

3.  Look  up  in  the  dictionary  every  word  the  spelling  of 
which  you  are  not  certain. 

4.  She  is  as  old,  if  not  older,  than  her  brother. 

5.  I  have  for  over  a  year,  and  I  will  still  continue,  to  pay  my 
rent  promptly. 

6.  I  do  not  think  he  is  any  taller,  if  as  tall,  as  I  am. 

7.  You  are  the  man  whom  the  letter  is  addressed. 

(b)  Sometimes  such  words  SLS  other,  else,  or  before 
are  carelessly  omitted.     Examples  :  — 

1.  This  has  been  a  greater   exposition  than  was   ever  at- 
tempted. 

(The  word  "before  "  must  be  inserted  after  "ever";  other- 
wise the  statement  is  untrue.) 

2.  Nobody  ever  knew  so  much  about  fishes  as  Agassiz  did. 

3.  No  period  of  ten  years  ever  saw  so  much  progress  in 
science  as  the  last  ten  years  have  seen. 

4.  She  thinks  nobody  knows  so  much  as  she  does. 

5.  I  believe  no  one  ever  saw  so  beautiful  a  sunset  as  this. 

6.  I  think  no  dog  ever  had  so  fine  a  coat  as  this  one  has. 

7.  New  York  is  larger  than  any  city  in  this  country. 

WRIT.    IN    ENG. 8 


114  WRITING   IN   ENGLISH 

(c)  Sometimes   a   necessary   verb,   preposition,   or 
other  part  of  speech  is  omitted  in  statements  of  com- 
parisons, after  than  or  as.     Examples  :  — 

1.  He  likes  me  more  than  you. 

(Insert   "he  does"   after   "than,"  or   "do"   after   "you," 
according  to  which  is  meant.) 

2.  Marmosets  are  as  much  like  men  as  some  monkeys. 

3.  That  dog  looks  more  like  a  wolf  than  a  bloodhound. 

4.  This  meat  belongs  to  this  dog  rather  than  that. 

5.  He  wished  for  it  more  than  his  brother. 

6.  He  wished  for  nothing  more  than  a  dog. 

7.  That  stone  resembles  a  dumpling  more  than  anything  else. 

(d)  Examples  of  other  faulty  omissions,  including 
the  omission  of  the  article  :  — 

1.  If  dead,  his  wife  and  children  may  apply. 

2.  This  blacksmith  can  repair  the  machine  when  injured. 

3.  The  wise  and  (the)  good  are  all  too  few.     (What  differ- 
ence is  made  by  the  inserting  of  "the  "  ?]) 

4.  We  know  how  likely  the  loss  of  all  was,  when  we  think 
how  thick  the  fog  was,  .and  especially  we  remember  how  the 
wind  blew. 

5.  Some  persons  cannot  tell  the  difference  between  the  use 
of  a  colon  and  A  a  semicolon. 

6.  The   society  elected  a   secretary  and  A  treasurer,  who 
were  to  hold  office  for  one  year. 

7.  I    believed    A    the    man    was    honest    and    A   he    was 
accused  falsely. 

8.  He  selected  out  of  the  herd  all  the  white  and  A  black 
horses. 

9.  I  cannot  remember  A  one  thing  he  said. 

10.  If  he  is  not  a  scoundrel,  he  is  very  near  A  one. 

1  See  Maxwell's  Advanced  Lessons  in  English  Grammar,  p.  133. 


CLEARNESS   IN  WRITING  115 

11.  For  that  crop  of  grass,  though  A  green  and  fresh,  the 
farmer  got  only  five  dollars  a  ton. 

12.  $5000  reward  if  you  can  set  fire  to  anything  after  wash- 
ing in  flamine. 

Exercise  66.  Supplying  faulty  omissions.  —  Correct  all 
the  sentences  given  in  the  four  groups  given  above  as 
illustrating  faulty  omissions. 

III.  Faulty  use  of  pronouns.  —  One  of  the  com- 
monest faults  of  thoughtless  writers  is  the  use  of  a 
pronoun  without  a  perfectly  certain  antecedent.  Pro- 
nouns in  themselves  mean  nothing ;  they  merely 
stand  for  their  antecedents.  Hence  it  is  foolish  to 
put  into  a  sentence  a  pronoun  of  whose  antecedent 
the  reader  may  not  be  certain. 

EXAMPLES  :     (a)  Mary  asked  her  mother  how  old  she  was. 

Mary  said  to  her  mother,  "  How  old  are  you  ?  "  (Or,  "  How 
old  am  I  ?  ") 

(6)  On  the  mountain,  at  one  place,  there  was  a  stone  face, 
which  we  had  much  trouble  in  reaching. 

On  the  mountain,  at  a  place  which  we  had  much  trouble  in 
reaching,  there  was  a  stone  face. 

Exercise  67.  Obscure  pronouns.  —  Correct  the  following 
sentences,  either  by  using  direct  quotation,  by  changing 
the  arrangement  of  the  words,  or  by  making  clear  in  sortie 
other  way  what  is  the  antecedent  of  each  pronoun  that  is 
doubtful  in  meaning.1 

1.  He  made  that  remark  without  leaving  me  a  chance  to  make 
a  reply,  which  I  thought  was  very  wrong. 

2.  The  gentleman  told  his  brother  that  the  umbrella  he  had 
borrowed  was  worthless,  and  so  he  returned  it. 

1  See  Maxwell's  Advanced  Lessons  in  English  Grammar,  pp.  246-247. 


116  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

3.  Henry  called  yesterday  to  see  my  father,  for  he  had  writ- 
ten to  him  to  make  the  engagement  to  do  so. 

4.  There  are  many  pets  of  different  characters,  which  are  all 
good  enough. 

5.  He  says  there  is  near  here  one  dangerous  place,  and  that 
is  certainly  worth  knowing. 

6.  When  the  Indians  stole  his  horses,  he  said  they  were 
worthless  beasts  that  ought  to  be  shot. 

7.  Among  the  new  arrivals  was  Mr.  Derby,  now  so  loved  by 
every  one,  who  was  to  officiate  on  the  occasion. 

8.  He  said  he  had  talked  with  the  agent,  and  he  would  do  all 
he  could  to  prevent  the  injustice.     This  is  just  what  I  wanted. 

9.  The  poor  boy  said  his  father  used  to  beat  him  till  he  was 
out  of  breath. 

10.  He  was  surprised,  he  said,  that  he  had  not  done  as  he  was 
directed  to  do. 

11.  On  the  opposite  sides  of  the  bridge  are  walks  for  foot  pas- 
sengers that  are  about  three  feet  wide. 

12.  He  was  a  man  of  great  height,  and  that  accounted  for  his 
being  able  to  see. 

13.  They  issued  a  circular  concerning  the  horse  thief,  that 
offered  a  reward  of  ten  dollars  for  his  arrest. 

IY.  The  "  which"  habit.  —  Sometimes  a  sentence  is 
made  very  uncertain  in  meaning  and  very  tiresome 
by  the  careless  repeating  of  "which,"  "who  "  or  "that" 
with  different  antecedents.  A  familiar  example  is  the 
tale  in  which  we  read,  "  This  is  the  dog  that  worried 
the  cat  that  caught  the  rat  that  ate  the  malt  that  lay 
in  the  house  that  Jack  built."  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  sentences  like  this  are  amusingly  lacking  in 
unity ;  yet  we  sometimes  find  examples  like  those 
below,  written  in  all  seriousness.  One  relative  in  a 
sentence  is  usually  enough,  unless  the  relatives  refer 


CLEARNESS  IN   WRITING  117 

to  the  same  antecedent  and  the  clauses  are  connected 
by  coordinating  conjunctions. 

EXAMPLE  :  These  words,  which  were  not  meant  as  a  joke, 
seemed  funny  to  the  audience,  which  had  not  expected  a  speech 
to  be  so  serious,  which  Mark  Twain  delivered. 

CORRECTED  :  Though  these  words  were  not  meant  as  a  joke, 
they  seemed  funny  to  an  audience  which  had  not  expected  a 
speech  of  Mark  Twain's  to  be  so  serious. 

Exercise  68.  The  "  which  "  habit. — Rewrite  the  follow- 
ing sentences  so  as  to  give  them  clearness  and  unity. 
One  good  device  is  to  write  in  place  of  a  relative  clause  an 
adjective  modifier,  either  a  word  or  a  phrase,  or  a  noun 
in  apposition. 

1.  Burnes,  whose  father  was  a  business  man  who  had  accu- 
mulated a  tolerable  fortune,  grew  up  in  idleness,  which  was 
very  much  to  his  taste. 

2.  The  suit  of  clothes,  which  was  much  the  worse  for  the 
wear  and  tear  which  it  had  received  in  the  summer  which  its 
owner  had  spent  in  the  mountains,  had  still  to  be  of  service. 

3.  The  point  in  which  he  most  excelled  was  the  use  of  the 
tomahawk,  which  he  could  hurl  with  a  skill  which  amazed  us. 

4.  This  story  winds  at  first  like  a  quiet  brook,  which  leads 
here  and  there  across  green  fields,  which  gradually  give  way  to 
a  stern  and  rocky  region  in  which  there  are  abrupt  cataracts. 

5.  He   had  no  books  excepting  an  old  copy  of  Paradise 
Lost,  which  he  read  in  the  intervals  of  his  work,  in  which  way 
he  acquired  some  of  the  knowledge  of  good  poetry  which  gave 
him  pleasure  all  through  his  life. 

V.  Misplacing  of  modifiers. —  Words,  phrases,  and 
clause  modifiers  may  all  be  misplaced,  and  frequently 
are.  In  fact,  this  misplacing  is  the  most  common 
of  all  the  faults  of  sentence  making.  It  is  sometimes 


118  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

called  "squinting  construction."  When  a  modifier 
squints,  or  can  be  taken  as  belonging  to  one  or  the 
other  of  two  words  in  the  sentence,  the  statement  may, 
of  course,  be  taken  in  two  ways,  and  is  therefore  not 
clear.  One  of  the  most  frequently  misplaced  words 
is  "  only."  Be  sure  to  place  it  where  it  can  limit 
only  what  you  intend  it  to  limit.1 

Note  the  different  meanings  of  the  following  sentences :  — 

Only  I  saw  three  men. 
I  saw  only  three  men. 
I-  saw  three  men  only. 
I  only  saw  three  men. 

Another  class  of  words  often  misplaced  is  parti- 
ciples. As  a  rule,  when  a  sentence  begins  with  a 
participle,  the  latter  is  understood  to  modify  the 
subject  of  the  sentence,  as  in  the  following  ex- 
amples :  — 

Trusting  to  hear  from  you  soon,  I  remain  your  friend,  E.  S.  S. 
Brought  to  a  halt  in  that  direction,  the  animal  faced  about 
toward  us. 

It  is  very  important  also  to  remember  this  caution, 
that  when  two  words  are  used  correlatively  (as  both 
.  .  .  and,  not  only  .  .  .  but  (also),  either  ...  or, 
etc.),  each  member  of  the  pair  should  come  before 
the  same  part  of  speech.  Thus  in  the  sentence 
"  John  not  only  had  to  walk  the  whole  distance,  but 
to  carry  his  little  brother  a  part  of  the  way,"  not 

1  See  Maxwell's  Advanced  Lessons  in  English  Grammar,  pp.  260-263. 


CLEARNESS   IN    WRITING  119 

only  should  come  after  had,  so  that  the  correlatives 
may  stand  next  to  the  coordinate  infinitives. 

Exercise  69.  Misplaced  modifiers.  —  Correct  the  follow- 
ing sentences,  by  rearrangement  or  by  substitution  of 
equivalent  expressions  for  the  modifiers,  so  as  to  make 
the  sentences  mean  clearly  one  thing  and  one  thing  only. 

EXAMPLE  :  For  rent,  a  well-furnished  parlor,  for  a  lady, 
thirty-five  feet  wide. 

CORRECTED  :  For  rent,  a  well-furnished  parlor,  thirty-five 
feet  wide,  suitable  for  a  lady. 

1.  For  that  crop  of  grass,  though  it  was  green  and  fresh, 
the  farmer  only  got  five  dollars  a  ton. 

2.  Tell  him,  if  he  thinks  so,  he  should  stay  at  home. 

3.  Thinking  this  amusing,  like  a  fool,  he  never  suspected 
treachery. 

4.  I  was  almost  allowed  to  do  as  I  pleased. 

5.  That  talk  is  only  fit  for  the  dullest  of  company. 

6.  He  only  receives  four  dollars  a  week,  and  has  nearly 
spent  all  of  it  before  the  week  is  half  gone. 

7.  He  had  only  been  there  two  days. 

8.  Rising  upon  tiptoe,  the  mere  top  of  the  gable  could  be 
seen  from  where  he  stood. 

9.  This  rug  was  bought  by  a  firm  in  Troy,  costing  over  a 
hundred  dollars. 

10.  Having  removed  the  top  of  the  jar,  the  mysterious  con- 
tents were  displayed  to  our  sight. 

11.  Crowned  by  a  tuft  of  poplar  trees,  we  at  last  saw  the 
hill  that  rose  near  our  destination. 

12.  Trusting     to    hear    from    you  favorably,   believe   me 
sincerely  yours. 

13.  The  train  had  already  rounded  the  curve,  carrying  over 
a  hundred  passengers,  when    the    engineer   saw   the   danger 
signal,  and,  reversing  the  lever,  the  train  stopped. 


120  WHITING  IN    ENGLISH 

14.  A  dog  that  had  long  belonged  to  a  man  living  during 
those  years  in  Cairo,  never  having  been  ill  a  day,  suddenly 
died. 

15.  I   never   remember   to   have   heard  a  more  convincing 
argument. 

16.  He  not  only  looked  at  rugs  but  at  carpets. 

17.  This  is  neither  the  time  for  idleness  nor  for  play. 

18.  The  teacher  said  we  should  not  aim  merely  to  memorize 
the  lesson,  but  to  understand  it. 

19.  It  is  a  country  not  more  attractive  to  the  farmer  than  to 
the  soldier. 

20.  He  spoke  both  like  a  manly  fellow  and  a  kindly  one. 

21.  He  did  not  wish  to  be  president  but  still  to  remain  in 
the  position  to  which  he  was  accustomed. 

Exercise  70.  Lack  of  clearness.  — Examine  one  of  your 
recently  written  compositions  for  examples  of  the  mis- 
placing of  modifiers,  the  improper  use  of  pronouns, 
faulty  omissions  of  words,  or  for  other  causes  of  loch  of 
clearness.  On  a  sheet  of  paper  write,  opposite  all  your 
sentences  lacking  clearness,  corrected  or  improved  sen- 
tences of  the  same  meaning. 

Exercise  71.  Composition.  —  (a)  Prepare  an  outline  for 
a  description  of  a  street  scene  that  you  have  witnessed. 

(#)  Write  the  composition,  mentioning  impressions 
of  colors,  shadows,  movement,  forin,  odors,  etc.  (See 
page  65.} 

(c)  After  ivriting,  look  the  composition  over  and  cor- 
rect all  sentences  lacking,  for  any  reason,  in  clearness. 

(d)  Copy  the  corrected  composition  into  the  exercise 
book. 


CHAPTER   IX 

CONTENTS    OF    PARAGRAPHS 

SINCE  all  we  say  goes  into  our  paragraphs,  it  is 
extremely  important  that  we  learn  what  to  put  into 
these  developments  of  the  topics  on  hand.  Given  a 
topic,  what  shall  we  say  about  it  ?  What  ways  are 
there  of  treating  it?  We  have  already  seen  that 
since  each  well-made  paragraph  has  its  distinct  topic, 
or  deals  with  its  own  particular  part  of  the  whole 
composition,  everything  in  the  paragraph  must  have 
to  do  with  this  topic,  otherwise  there  would  be  a 
lack  of  unity.  Now  for  the  question,  how  may  we 
fill  out,  illustrate,  or  develop  the  topic,  so  as  to  make 
our  handling  of  it  interesting  and  adequate  ? 

First,  a  caution :  no  matter  what  we  say  in  a  para- 
graph, our  sentences  should  be  connected  in  thought ; 
they  should  follow  one  another  easily  and  naturally 
throughout  each  paragraph.  This  is  one  reason  why 
topic  sentences  are  useful.  When  we  read  a  topic 
sentence,  we  naturally  expect  the  explanation  of  it, 
and  thus  the  paragraph  reads  smoothly.  An  em- 
phatic word  in  one  sentence  suggests  the  beginning 
of  the  next  remark,  and  thus  we  go  on  without  effort 
from  sentence  to  sentence. 

What  shall  be  written  in  paragraphs  f —  There  are 
several  ways  of  developing  paragraphs,  and  with  all 

121 


122  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

these  ways  we  should  be  familiar.  Which  of  them 
we  should  use  in  a  given  case  depends,  as  we  shall 
see,  upon  the  kind  of  composition,  the  nature  of  the 
topic,  and  what  we  desire  to  say. 

I.  Details  or  particulars.  —  If  the  topic  is  a  single 
object,  scene,  pe  -son,  incident,  or  the  like,  the  para- 
graph consists  usually  of  details  or  particulars.  For 
example,  in  the  following  paragraphs  (descriptive), 
the  topic  is  in  one  case  an  English  farm,  in  the  other 
a  country  church.  In  such  a  case  the  subject  is  a 
single  scene,  and  the  natural  way  to  deal  with  it  is 
to  give  particulars  about  it. 

On  one  of  these  solitary  houses,  the  afternoon  sun,  about  to 
descend  before  very  long  behind  the  hills,  was  still  lingering 
on  this  May  afternoon  we  are  describing,  bringing  the  white- 
washed porch  and  the  broad  bands  of  white  edging  the  win- 
dows, into  relief  against  the  gray  stone  of  the  main  fabric,  the 
gray  roof  overhanging  it,  and  the  group  of  sycamores  and 
Scotch  firs  which  protected  it  from  the  cold  east  and  north. 
The  western  light  struck  full  on  a  copper  beech  which  made  a 
welcome  patch  of  warm  color  in  front  of  a  long  gray  line  of 
outhouses  standing  level  with  the  house,  and  touched  the 
heckberry  blossom  which  marked  the  upward  course  of  the 
little  lane  connecting  the  old  farm  with  the  road ;  above  it 
rose  the  green  fell,  broken  here  and  there  by  jutting  crags, 
and  below  it  the  ground  sank  rapidly  through  a  piece  of  young 
hazel  plantation,  at  this  present  moment  a  sheet  of  bluebells, 
toward  the  level  of  the  river.  There  was  a  dainty  and  yet 
sober  brightness  about  the  whole  picture. 

—  From  Robert  Elsmere,  by  Mrs.  Humphry  Ward,  Ch.  I. 

I  am  fond  of  loitering  about  country  churches ;  and  this 
was  so  delightfully  situated,  that  it  frequently  attracted  me. 


CONTENTS  OF  PARAGRAPHS         123 

It  stood  on  a  knoll,  around  which  a  small  stream  made  a 
beautiful  bend,  and  then  wound  its  way  through  a  long  reach 
of  meadow  scenery.  The  church  was  surrounded  by  yew  trees, 
which  seemed  almost  coeval  with  itself.  Its  tall  Gothic  spire 
shot  up  lightly  from  among  them,  with  rooks  and  crows 
generally  wheeling  about  it. 

— From  The  Sketch  Book,  by  Washington  Irving. 

The  following  paragraph  shows  how  the  method 
of  particulars  and  details  is  used  in  narration :  — 

The  history  relates  that  Sancho  Panza  was  conducted  from 
the  court  of  justice  to  a  sumptuous  palace,  where,  in  a  great 
hall,  he  found  a  magnificent  entertainment  prepared.  He  no 
sooner  entered  than  his  ears  were  saluted  by  the  sound  of 
instruments,  and  four  pages  served  him  with  water  to  wash 
his  hands.  The  music  having  ceased,  Sancho  now  sat  down  to 
dinner  in  a  chair  of  state,  placed  at  the  upper  end  of  the  table ; 
for  there  was  but  one  seat,  and  only  one  plate  and  napkin. 
A  personage,  who,  as  it  afterward  appeared,  was  a  physician, 
took  his  stand  at  one  side  of  his  chair,  with  a  whalebone  rod 
in  his  hand.  They  then  removed  the  beautiful  white  cloth, 
which  covered  a  variety  of  fruits  and  other  eatables.  Grace 
was  said  by  one  in  a  student's  dress,  and  a  laced  bib  was 
placed,  by  a  page,  under  Sancho's  chin.  Another,  who  per- 
formed the  office  of  taster,  now  set  a  plate  of  fruit  before  him, 
but  he  had  scarcely  tasted  it  when,  on  being  touched  by  the 
wand  bearer,  it  was  snatched  away,  and  another  containing 
meat  supplied  its  place.  Yet  before  Sancho  could  make  a 
beginning,  it  vanished,  like  the  former,  on  a  signal  of  the 
wand.  Sancho  was  surprised  at  this  proceeding,  and  looking 
around  him,  asked  if  this  dinner  was  only  to  show  off  their 
sleight  of  hand.  "My  lord,"  said  the  wand  bearer,  "your  lord- 
ship's food  must  here  be  watched  with  the  same  care  as  is 
customary  with  the  governors  of  other  islands.  It  is  my  duty 
to  see  that  the  governor  eats  what  is  good  and  salutary,  and 


124  WRITING   IN   ENGLISH 

prevent  his  touching  whatever  I  imagine  may  be  prejudicial  to 
his  health.  It  was  for  that  reason,  my  lord,"  continued  he, 
"  I  ordered  the  dish  of  fruit  to  be  taken  away,  as  being  too 
watery,  and  that  other  dish  as  being  too  hot,  and  overseasoned 
with  spices,  which  are  apt  to  provoke  thirst." 

—  From  Don  Quixote,  by  Cervantes. 

The  following  anecdote  of  a  walk  with  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  containing  both  description  and  narration,  is 
an  illustration  of  the  use  of  the  method  of  particulars 
in  writing  that  intermingles  these  two  kinds  of 
composition :  — 

Everything  that  was  beautiful  and  picturesque  caught  his 
attention  in  an  instant.  I  remember  walking  out  with  him 
and  a  lady,  who  was  staying  in  the  house  at  the  time,  along 
the  sunny  banks  of  the  Tweed,  toward  Selkirk.  It  was  a 
bright  morning,  and  two  great  and  very  beautiful  staghounds 
accompanied  us  in  the  ramble.  Sir  Walter  pointed  out  the 
beauties  of  the  scene  with  great  animation,  stumping  along  the 
little  narrow  path  we  were  following,  supported  by  a  stout 
stick.  He  had  a  plain  Scotch  bonnet  on  his  head,  and  a  gray 
shepherd's  maade  or  plaid  round  his  broad  shoulders,  and, 
when  not  excited,  he  looked,  with  his  somewhat  heavy 
features,  and  white,  overhanging  eyebrows,  like  a  good,  stout, 
portly  farmer.  About  half  a  mile  from  Abbotsford,  however, 
a  bright,  sparkling  stream  crossed  the  path  on  its  way  toward 
the  Tweed,  forming  a  little  still  pool  by  the  side  of  the  road 
before  it  took  another  leap  down  the  bank ;  and  by  the  side  of 
this  pool  one  of  the  staghounds,  which  had  run  on  before, 
stopped  for  some  moments  to  contemplate  his  own  image  in  the 
mirror,  throwing  himself  into  the  most  graceful  attitude 
imaginable.  The  dog's  proceeding  immediately  caught  the 
attention  of  the  poet,  and  he  turned  to  point  it  out  to  our  fair 
companion  with  his  face  all  sparkling  with  eager  admiration. 
The  gray  eye  lighted  up,  the  heavy  mouth  beamed  with  a 


CONTENTS  OF  PARAGRAPHS         125 

bright  sinile,  and  even  the  stalwart  figure  became  more  erect 
and  stately.  "  Look  at  the  vanity  of  the  creature,"  he  cried, 
"  did  ever  lady  before  her  looking-glass  show  more  admiration 
of  herself  than  that  brute  ?  " 

—  From  The  Bride  of  Landeck,  by  G.  P.  R.  James,  p.  48. 

II.  Instances  or  examples.  —  The  second  method  of 
developing  a  paragraph  is  used  when  the  topic  is  not 
a  single  object,  but  a  general  topic  or  statement,  such 
as,  Women  are  sometimes  very  brave,  No  person  is 
faultless,  "  Time  is  money,"  The  recent  increase  in 
the  cost  of  living.  Topics  like  these  are  naturally 
explained  or  developed  by  giving  instances  or  exam- 
ples of  what  is  being  discussed.  This  method  may 
be  used  in  description  as  in  the  following  paragraph. 
The  topic  is  indicated  in  the  first  sentence ;  the  other 
sentences  give  selected  instances  of  the  fog's  being 
everywhere  :  — 

Fog  everywhere.  Fog  up  the  river,  where  it  flows  among 
green  aits  and  meadows ;  fog  down  the  river,  where  it  rolls 
defiled  among  the  tiers  of  shipping,  and  the  waterside  pollu- 
tions of  a  great  (and  dirty)  city.  Fog  in  the  Essex  marshes, 
fog  on  the  Kentish  heights.  Fog  creeping  into  the  cabooses 
of  collier-brigs;  fog  lying  out  on  the  yards  and  hovering  in 
the  rigging  of  great  ships ;  fog  drooping  on  the  gunwales  of 
barges  and  small  boats.  Fog  in  the  eyes  and  throats  of  ancient 
Greenwich  pensioners,  wheezing  by  the  firesides  of  their  wards  ; 
fog  in  the  stem  and  bowl  of  the  afternoon  pipe  of  the  wrathful 
skipper,  down  in  his  close  cabin  ;  fog  cruelly  pinching  the  toes 
and  fingers  of  his  shivering  little  'prentice  boy  on  deck.  Chance 
people  on  the  bridges  peeping  over  the  parapets  into  the  nether 
sky  of  fog,  with  fog  all  round  them,  as  if  they  were  up  in  a 
balloon,  and  hanging  in  the  misty  clouds. 

—  From  Bleak  House,  by  Charles  Dickens,  Ch.  I. 


126  WRITING   IN  ENGLISH 

The  method  of  instances  or  examples  is  occasionally 
used  in  narration;  very  frequently  in  explanatory 
paragraphs  (exposition) ;  and  a  good  deal  used  in 
argument,  because  instances  of  the  truth  of  a  proposi- 
tion are  proofs  of  it.  Sometimes  a  paragraph  is  made 
up  of  merely  one  important  instance  or  example. 

Further  illustrations :  — 

At  last  I  fell  into  some  talk,  at  a  distance,  with  this  poor 
man.  First  I  asked  him  how  people  did  thereabouts.  "  Alas, 
sir/'  says  he,  "almost  desolate;  all  dead  or  sick.  Here  are 
very  few  families  in  this  part  or  in  that  village  "  —  pointing  at 
Poplar — "where  half  of  them  are  dead  already,  and  the  rest 
sick."  Then  he  pointed  to  one  house :  "  There  they  are  all 
dead,"  said  he,  "  and  the  house  stands  open ;  nobody  dares  go 
into  it.  A  poor  thief,"  says  he,  "  ventured  to  steal  something, 
but  he  paid  dear  for  his  theft,  for  he  was  carried  to  the  church- 
yard too,  last  night."  Then  he  pointed  to  several  other  houses, 
"There,"  says  he,  "they  are  shut  up;  you  see  a  watchman  at 
the  door ;  and  so  of  other  houses." 

—  From  A  Journal  of  the  Great  Plague,  by  Daniel  Defoe. 

In  some  respects  the  animals  excel  us.  The  birds  have  a 
longer  sight,  besides  the  advantage  by  their  wings  of  a  higher 
observatory.  A  cow  can  bid  her  calf,  by  secret  signal,  prob- 
ably of  the  eye,  to  run  away,  or  to  lie  down  and  hide  itself. 
The  jockeys  say  of  certain  horses,  that  "they  look  over  the 

whole  ground." 

—  From  R.  W.  Emerson,  Essay  on  Manners. 

His  children,  too,  were  as  ragged  and  wild  as  if  they 
belonged  to  nobody.  His  son  Kip,  an  urchin  begotten  in  his 
own  likeness,  promised  to  inherit  the  habits,  with  the  old 
clothes,  of  his  father.  He  was  generally  seen  trooping  like  a 
colt  at  his  mother's  heels,  equipped  in  a  pair  of  his  father's 


CONTENTS  OF  PARAGRAPHS         127 

cast-off  galligaskins,  which  he  had  much  ado  to  hold  up  with 
one  hand,  as  a  fine  lady  does  her  train  in  bad  weather. 

—  From  Eip  Van  Winkle^  by  Washington  Irving. 

The  structure  of  every  organic  being  is  related,  in  the  most 
essential,  but  often  hidden  manner,  to  that  of  all  the  other  or- 
ganic beings  with  which  it  comes  into  competition  for  food  or 
residence,  or  from  which  it  has  to  escape,  or  on  which  it  preys. 
This  is  obvious  in  the  structure  of  the  teeth  and  talons  of 
the  tiger;  and  in  that  of  the  legs  and  claws  of  the  parasite 
which  clings  to  the  hair  on  the  tiger's  body.  But  in, the  beau- 
tifully plumed  seed  of  the  dandelion,  and  in  the  flattened  and 
fringed  legs  of  the  water  beetle,  the  relation  seems  at  first  con- 
fined to  the  elements  of  air  and  water.  Yet  the  advantage  of 
plumed  seeds,  no  doubt,  stands  in  the  closest  relation  to  the 
land  being  already  thickly  clothed  with  other  plants;  so  that  the 
seeds  may  be  widely  distributed  and  fall  on  unoccupied  ground. 
In  the  water  beetle,  the  structure  of  its  legs,  so  well  adapted 
for  diving,  allows  it  to  compete  with  other  aquatic  insects,  to 
hunt  for  its  own  prey,  and  to  escape  serving  as  prey  to  other 

animals. 

— From  The  Origin  of  Species,  by  Charles  Darwin. 

Exercise  72.  Study  of  paragraphs.  —  Write  out  (a)  the 
topic  of  each  of  the  paragraphs  so  far  quoted  in  this 
chapter,  and  (&)  the  first  and  the  last  words  of  the  topic 
sentences. 

(c)  Mention  what  things  are  given  as  "  instances  "  or 
"  examples. " 

(d)  Write  also  the  kind  of  composition  fou,nd  in  each  of 
the  extracts  (see  Chapter  7). 

Exercise  73.  Writing  of  paragraphs.  —  Develop  the  fol- 
lowing topics  or  topic  sentences  by  giving  instances  or 
exam-pies :  — 

1.  Many  interesting  games  may  be  played  in  the  sand. 

2.  America  has  already  produced  some  excellent  poets. 


128  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

3.  Sometimes  ludicrous  mistakes  are  made  through  ignorance 
or  carelessness. 

4.  Swimming  birds. 

5.  Boys'  sports  are  not  always  without  danger. 

6.  The  best  fruits  grow  in  the  temperate  zone. 

7.  Damages  caused  by  bad  roads  and  rough  streets. 

III.  Comparisons  or  contrasts.  —  A  third  method 
of  working  up  a  topic  is  by  the  use  of  comparisons 
or  contrasts ;  that  is,  by  explaining  the  resemblance  of 
the  topic  to  something  else,  or  by  showing  how  it  is 
different  from  something  else.  In  each  case  particu- 
lars and  details  are  given,  but  they  are  particulars 
about  the  resemblance  or  the  contrast.  In  the  fol- 
lowing paragraph  the  two  parts  of  the  valley  which 
is  being  described  are  made  more  distinct  to  our 
minds  by  contrast. 

During  the  greater  part  of  its  course  the  valley  of  Long 
Whindale  is  tame  and  featureless.  The  hills  at  the  lower  part 
are  low  and  rounded,  and  the  sheep  and  cattle  pasture  over 
slopes  unbroken  either  by  wood  or  rock.  The  fields  are  bare 
and  close-shaven  by  the  flocks  which  feed  on  them ;  the  walls 
run  either  perpendicularly  up  the  fells  or  horizontally  along 
them,  so  that,  save  for  the  wooded  course  of  the  tumbling 
river  and  the  bush-grown  hedges  of  the  road,  the  whole  valley 
looks  like  a  green  map  divided  by  regular  lines  of  grayish 
black.  But  as  the  walker  penetrates  further,  beyond  a  certain 
bend  which  the  stream  makes  halfway  from  the  head  of  the 
dale,  the  hills  grow  steeper,  the  breadth  between  them  con- 
tracts, the  inclosure  lines  are  broken  and  deflected  by  rocks 
and  patches  of  plantation,  and  the  few  farms  stand  more  boldly 
and  conspicuously  forward,  each  on  its  spur  of  land,  looking 
up  to  or  away  from  the  great  masses  of  frowning  crag  which 


CONTENTS  OF  PARAGRAPHS         129 

close  in  the  head  of  the  valley,  and  which  from  the  moment 
they  come  into  sight  give  it  dignity  and  a  wild  beauty. 

—  From  Robert  Elsmere,  by  Mrs.  Humphry  Ward,  Ch.  I. 

In  the  following  paragraph  the  idea  of  character  is 
made  more  distinct  by  contrasting  it  with  another 
idea :  — 

There  is  a  difference  between  character  and  reputation. 
Character  is  what  a  man  is ;  reputation  is  what  he  is  thought 
to  be.  Men  of  good  character  are  generally  men  of  good  repu- 
tation, but  this  is  not  always  the  case,  as  the  motives  and 
actions  of  the  best  of  men  are  sometimes  misunderstood  and 
misrepresented.  But  it  is  important,  above  everything  else, 
that  we  be  right  and  do  right,  whether  our  motives  and  actions 
are  properly  understood  and  appreciated  or  not. 

—  Edmund  Burke. 

One  form  or  variety  of  the  method  of  contrasts  is 
the  telling  of  what  a  thing  is  not,  or  what  it  is  not 
like.  For  example  :  — 

The  scene  around  was  desolate ;  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach 
it  was  desolate ;  the  bare  rocks  faced  each  other,  and  left  a 
long  and  wide  interval  of  thin  white  sand.  You  might  wander 
on  and  look  round  and  round,  and  peep  into  the  crevices  of  the 
rocks  and  discover  nothing  that  acknowledged  the  influence  of 
the  seasons.  There  was  no  spring,  no  summer,  no  autumn;  and 
the  winter's  snow,  that  would  have  been  lovely,  fell  not  on 
these  hot  rocks  and  scorching  sands.  Never  morning  lark  had 
poised  himself  over  this  desert;  but  the  huge  serpent  often 
hissed  there  beneath  the  talons  of  the  vulture,  and  the  vulture 
screamed,  his  wings  imprisoned-  within  the  coils  of  the 

serpent. 

—  From  The  Wanderings  of  Cain,  by  S.  T.  Coleridge. 

WRIT.    IX    ENG.  — 9 


130  WRITING   IN   ENGLISH 

The  use  of  comparison  is  illustrated  in  the  follow- 
ing paragraphs :  — 

She  is  like  some  tender  tree,  the  pride  and  beauty  of  the 
grove ;  graceful  in  its  form,  bright  in  its  foliage,  but  with  the 
worm  preying  at  its  heart.  We  find  it  suddenly  withering, 
when  it  should  be  most  fresh  and  luxuriant.  We  see  it  droop- 
ing its  branches  to  the  earth,  and  shedding  leaf  by  leaf;  until, 
wasted  and  perished  away,  it  falls,  even  in  the  stillness  of  the 
forest ;  and  as  we  muse  over  the  beautiful  ruin,  we  strive  in 
vain  to  recollect  the  blast  or  thunderbolt  that  could  have  smit- 
ten it  with  decay. 

—  From  The  Broken  Heart,  by  Washington  Irving. 

A  principal  fruit  of  friendship  is  the  ease  and  discharge  of 
the  fullness  and  swellings  of  the  heart,  which  passions  of  all 
kinds  do  cause  and  induce.  We  know  diseases  of  stoppings 
and  suffocations  are  the  most  dangerous  in  the  body,  and  it  is  not 
otherwise  in  the  mind ;  you  may  take  sarza  to  open  the  liver, 
steel  to  open  the  spleen,  flower  of  sulphur  for  the  lungs,  casto- 
reum  for  the  brain;  but  no  receipt  openeth  the  heart  but  a 
true  friend,  to  whom  you  may  impart  griefs,  joys,  fears,  hopes, 
suspicions,  counsels,  and  whatsoever  lieth  upon  the  heart  to 
oppress  it,  in  a  kind  of  civil  shrift  or  confession. 

—  Francis  Bacon,  Essay  on  Friendship. 

The  method  of  comparisons  and  contrasts  may  be 
used  in  any  kind  of  composition.  Further  illustra- 
tions :  — 

"  Take  thine  eyes  off  the  bridge,"  said  he,  "  and  tell  me  if 
thou  seest  anything  thou  dost  not  comprehend."  Upon  looking 
up,  —  "What  mean,"  said  I,  "those  great  flights  of  birds 
that  are  perpetually  hovering  about  the  bridge,  and  settling 
upon  it  from  time  to  time  ?  I  see  vultures,  harpies,  ravens, 
cormorants,  and  among  many  other  feathered  creatures,  several 


CONTENTS  OF  PARAGRAPHS         131 

little  Vinged  boys,  that  perch  in  great  numbers  upon  the 
middle  arches."  —  "  These,"  said  the  genius,  "  are  envy,  avarice, 
superstition,  despair,  love,  with  the  like  cares  and  passions 

that  infest  human  life." 

—  Joseph  Addison. 

Nothing  strikes  one  more,  in  the  race  of  life,  than  to  see  how 
many  give  out  in  the  first  half  of  the  course.  "  Commence- 
ment day  "  always  reminds  me  of  the  start  for  the  "  Derby," 
when  the  beautiful  high-bred  three-year-olds  of  the  season  are 
brought  up  for  trial.  That  day  is  the  start,  and  life  is  the 
race.  .  .  .  This  is  the  start,  and  here  they  are,  —  coats  bright 
as  silk,  and  manes  as  smooth  as  eau  lustrale  can  make  them. 
Some  of  the  best  of  the  colts  are  pranced  round,  a  few  minutes 
each,  to  show  their  paces.  What  is  that  old  gentleman  crying 
about  ?  and  the  old  lady  by  him,  and  the  three  girls,  what  are 
they  all  covering  their  eyes  for  ?  Oh,  that  is  their  colt  which 
has  just  been  trotted  upon  the  stage.  Do  they  really  think 
those  little  thin  legs  can  do  anything  in  such  a  slashing  sweep- 
stakes as  is  coming  off  in  these  next  forty  years  ?  .  .  . 

Fifty  years.  Race  over.  All  that  are  on  the  course  are 
coming  in  at  a  walk ;  no  more  running.  Who  is  ahead  ?  Ahead  ? 
What !  and  the  winning  post  a  slab  of  white  or  gray  stone 
standing  out  from  that  turf  where  there  is  no  more  jockeying 
or  straining  for  victory  !  Well,  the  world  marks  their  places 
in  its  betting-book ;  but  be  sure  that  these  matter  very  little,  if 
they  have  run  as  well  as  they  know  how  ! 

—  From  The  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table,  by  Oliver  W.  Holmes. 
Houghton,  Mifflin,  and  Company,  by  permission. 

I  have  been  up  to  look  at  the  dance  and  supper  rooms,  for 
the  inauguration  ball  at  the  Patent  Office;  and  I  could  not 
help  thinking  what  a  different  scene  they  presented  to  my 
view  awhile  since,  filled  with  a  crowded  mass  of  the  worst 
wounded  of  the  war,  brought  in  from  second  Bull  Run,  Antie- 
tam,  and  Fredericksburg.  To-night,  beautiful  women,  per- 
fumes, the  violins'  sweetness,  the  polka,  and  the  waltz ;  then 


132  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

the  amputation,  the  blue  face,  the  groan,  the  glassy  eye  of  the 
dying,  the  clotted  rag,  the  odor  of  wounds  and  blood,  and  many 
a  mother's  son  amid  strangers,  passing  away  untended  there 
(for  the  crowd  of  the  badly  hurt  was  great,  and  much  for  nurse 
to  do,  and  much  for  surgeon). 

—  From  Specimen  Days,  by  Walt  Whitman. 
By  permission. 

Exercise  74.  Study  of  paragraphs.  —  Write  out  (a}  the 
topic  of  each  of  the  above  paragraphs,  (&)  the  kind  of 
composition  illustrated,  and  (o)  the  comparisons  or 
contrasts  made  or  suggested. 

Exercise  75.  Making  of  paragraphs.  —  (a)  Write  brief 
paragraphs  from  the  following  summaries,  using  the 
method  of  comparisons  or  contrasts. 

1.  The   beehive.     Like  a  little  city  —  the  queen  bee  —  the 
young  —  the  drones  —  the  workers  —  have  the  bees  a  language  ? 

2.  Some  pretend  to  despise  what  they  cannot  obtain.      Fable  of 
the  fox  and  the  grapes  —  repeated  efforts  —  the  fox,  baffled, 
says  at  last,  "  They  are  only  sour  grapes,  anyway." 

3.  Easter.     What   Easter   commemorates  —  appropriateness 
of  the  time  of  year — springing  up  of  the  flowers  (comparison). 

4.  Tlie  sunflower.     Said  to  turn  as  the  sun  moves  (compari- 
son)—  its  appearance  (comparison). 

5.  Troubles  make  men  strong.      Without  the  need  of  effort  we 
should  never  grow  strong  —  comparison  with   an  oak  tree  — 
its   weak   beginning  — the   rough  winds  —  the  hot  sun  —  the 
storms  —  its  rival  trees  —  the  strength  of  the  great  tree. 

(#)  When  you  have  developed  these  paragraphs,  give 
one  of  them  orally. 

IV.  Effects  or  results. —  We  may  develop  a  topic  in 
a  fourth  way,  namely,  .by  giving  the  effects  or  results 
of  the  fact  or  thing  used  as  the  topic.  Thus,  if  the 


CONTENTS  OF  PARAGRAPHS         133 

topic  sentence  read,  "  The  Gulf  Stream  is  of  immense 
importance  to  the  civilized  world/'  the  paragraph 
might  give  many  effects  of  the  temperature  and 
course  of  this  ocean  current.  The  method  of  effects 
may  be  used  in  exposition  and  in  narration  ;  less  fre- 
quently in  description  and  argument.  (For  examples 
of  its  use  in  description,  see  page  64.) 
Further  illustrations  of  this  method:  — 

I  mounted  the  stair.  As  I  approached  the  room  of  which  I 
was  in  search,  a  vapor,  deadly  infectious,  assailed  my  senses. 
It  resembled  nothing  of  which  I  had  ever  before  been  sensible. 
Many  odors  had  been  met  with,  even  since  my  arrival  in  the 
city,  less  supportable  than  this.  I  seemed  not  so  much  to 
smell,  as  to  taste  the  element  that  now  encompassed  me.  I 
felt  as  if  I  had  inhaled  a  poisonous  subtle  fluid,  whose  power 
instantly  bereft  my  stomach  of  all  vigor.  Some  fatal  influence 
seemed  to  seize  upon  my  vitals,  and  the  work  of  corrosion  and 
decomposition  to  be  busily  begun. 

—  From  Arthur  Mervyn,  by  Charles  Brockden  Brown. 

When  Mr.  Cooper  returned  in  1833,  without  meeting  any 
such  burst  of  welcome  as  had  greeted  Irving  on  his  return  the 
year  before ;  and  when  he  began  shortly  thereafter  to  scold  his 
countrymen  —  in  schoolmaster  fashion  —  about  their  lapses 
from  good  breeding,  and  their  lack  of  social  independence,  and 
their  subserviency  to  British  influences  (much  of  which  was 
solemnly  true),  the  newspaper  people  lost  their  tempers  and 
abused  him  loudly  and  continuously.  This  was  irritating  to  a 
man  who  honestly  believed  himself  better  equipped  to  instruct 
and  amuse  his  countrymen  than  ever  before.  And  the  irrita- 
tion put  him  in  the  mood  to  be  watchful  for  fresh  sources  of 
discontent.  These  came  pretty  abundantly  when  —  after  plant- 
ing himself  in  his  old  remodeled  home  of  Otsego  Hall  —  there 
sprung  up  a  fierce  quarrel  with  his  village  neighbors  in  respect 


134  WRITING   IN   ENGLISH 

to  ownership  of  a  tongue  of  woodland  which  shot  into  the  lake, 
and  which  had  long  been  used  as  a  public  resort.  The  legal 
rights  were  with  Cooper ;  but  popular  feeling  all  against  him. 
What  the  people  lacked  in  rights,  they  made  up  in  abuse ;  and 
what  the  author  lacked  in  sympathy,  he  made  up  in  ill  temper. 
The  quarrel  had  wide  echoes  ;  slanders  and  libel  suits  ensued  ; 
Cooper  winning  in  the  courts,  and  losing  —  out  of  court. 

—  From  American  Lands  and  Letters,  p.  246,-  by  Donald  G.  Mitchell. 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  by  permission. 

Ambition,  ruled  by  reason  and  religion,  is  a  virtue;  un- 
checked and  maddened  by  vanity  and  covetousness,  it  is  a  vice. 
Without  ambition,  no  great  deed  was  ever  accomplished.  It  is 
a  guiding  star  to  the  wise  and  good ;  only  a  snare  to  the  vain 
and  foolish.  Ambition  is  the  strongest  incentive  to  persever- 
ance, and  difficulties  will  sink  before  it,  where  they  had  ap- 
peared mountain  high.  It  is  ambition  which  keeps  alive  hope 
and  courage.  Without  it,  man  would  be  content  to  be  a  poor, 
debased  creature,  allowing  the  powers  of  his  brain  to  rest  for 
want  of  energy  to  cultivate  and  apply  them.  He  could  never 
rise  in  his  profession,  having  no  ambition  to  reach  its  highest 
point.  Like  every  other  good  gift,  it  is  the  abuse,  and  not  the 
use  of  ambition's  fire  that  leads  to  sin.  Kept  within  the  proper 
bounds,  it  is  a  noble  quality,  leading  to  perfection. 

—  Laurence  Sterne. 

V.  Reasons  or  causes. —  A  fifth  way  of  working  up 
a  topic  is  to  set  forth  reasons  or  causes.  This  method 
is  valuable  mainly  in  exposition  and  argument.  It 
may  well  be  used  in  writing  on  such  topics  as,  The 
disappearance  of  the  North  American  Indian,  The 
benefits  of  giving  the  vote  to  women,  The  increasing 
frequency  of  strikes,  Strikes  do  not  aid  the  cause  of 
labor. 


CONTENTS  OF  PARAGRAPHS         135 

Illustrations  of  this  method :  — 

Let  us  proclaim  it  firmly,  proclaim  it  even  in  fall  and  defeat, 
this  age  is  the  grandest  of  all  ages ;  and  do  you  know  where- 
fore? Because  it  is  the  most  benignant.  This  age,  the 
immediate  issue  of  the  French  Revolution,  and  its  first  born, 
enfranchises  the  slave  in  America,  uplifts  the  pariah  in  Asia,  de- 
stroys the  suttee  in  India,  and  extinguishes  in  Europe  the  last 
brands  of  the  stake,  civilizes  Turkey,  penetrates  the  Koran  with 
the  Gospel,  dignifies  woman,  subordinates  the  right  of  the  strong- 
est to  the  right  of  the  most  just,  suppresses  pirates,  ameliorates 
penal  laws,  purifies  the  galleys,  throws  the  bloody  sword  into 
the  gutter,  condemns  the  death  penalty,  takes  the  chain  and 
ball  from  the  foot  of  the  convict,  abolishes  torture,  degrades  and 
stigmatizes  war,  .  .  .  plucks  out  the  fangs  from  tyrants. 

—  Victor  Hugo. 

"Therefore,"  said  he,  "hath  it  with  all  confidence  been 
ordered  by  the  Commons  of  Great  Britain,  that  I  impeach 
Warren  Hastings  of  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors.  I  im- 
peach him  in  the  name  of  the  Commons  House  of  Parliament, 
whose  trust  he  has  betrayed.  I  impeach  him  in  the  name  of 
the  English  nation,  whose  ancient  honor  he  has  sullied.  I  im- 
peach him  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  India,  whose  rights  he 
has  trodden  under  foot,  and  whose  country  he  has  turned  into 
a  desert.  Lastly,  in  the  name  of  human  nature  itself,  in  the 
name  of  both  sexes,  in  the  name  of  every  age,  in  the  name  of 
every  rank,  I  impeach  the  common  enemy  and  oppressor  of 

all." 

—  From  Macaulay's  Essay  on  Warren  Hastings. 

Exercise  76.  Study  of  paragraphs.  — After  studying  the 
paragraphs  given  under  Methods  IV  and  V,  write  out 
(a)  the  topic  of  each  of  the  paragraphs,  (&)  the  kind  of 
composition  illustrated,  (c)  the  effects,  or  the  causes  or 
reasons  mentioned  (as  the  case  may  be). 


136  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

Exercise  77.  Writing  of  paragraphs.  —  Write  brief  para- 
graphs on  five  of  the  following  topics,  developing  them<  by 
giving  effects,  or  else  reasons  (stating  which} :  — 

1.  Outdoor  games.  2.  Winter  the  healthfullest  season.  3. 
The  importance  of  forest  trees.  4.  The  battle  of  Bull  Kun. 
5.  The  outbreak  of  the  Eevolutionary  War.  6.  The  drum  is 
indispensable  in  battle.  7.  Waves  on  the  seashore.  8.  The 
cold  north  wind.  9.  A  summer  shower.  10.  Life  on  a  farm 
is  pleasant. 

Exercise  78.  Study  of  paragraphing —  Study  the  follow- 
ing paragraphs,  and  determine  what  method  of  para- 
graph-development is  used  in  each  case.  Write  your 
answers. 

Note.  —  The  five  methods  of  developing  paragraphs  may  be 
remembered  by  the  aid  of  the  keyword  picer  (particulars,  in- 
stances, comparisons,  effects,  reasons). 

There  were,  however,  several  persons  who  gave  me  great  di- 
version on  this  occasion.  I  observed  one  bringing  in  a  fardel 
(burden)  very  carefully  concealed  under  an  old  embroidered 
cloak,  which,  upon  his  throwing  it  into  the  heap,  I  discovered  to 
be  poverty.  Another,  after  a  great  deal  of  puffing,  threw  down 
his  luggage,  which,  upon  examining,  I  found  to  be  his  wife. 
—  From  the  Spectator  Papers,  by  Joseph  Addison. 

How  few  men  in  the  world  are  prosperous  !  What  an  infi- 
nite number  of  slaves  and  beggars,  of  persecuted  and  oppressed 
people,  fill  all  corners  of  the  earth  with  groans,  and  heaven 
itself  with  weeping,  prayers,  and  sad  remembrances  !  How 
many  provinces  and  kingdoms  are  afflicted  by  a  violent  war,  or 
made  desolate  by  popular  diseases  !  Some  whole  countries  are 
remarked  with  fatal  evils  or  periodical  sicknesses.  Grand 
Cairo,  in  Egypt,  feels  the  plague  every  three  years  returning 
like  a  quartan  ague,  and  destroying  many  thousands  of  per- 
sons. All  the  inhabitants  of  Arabia,  the  desert,  are  in  contin- 
ual fear  of  being  buried  in  huge  heaps  of  sand,  and  therefore 


CONTENTS  OF  PARAGRAPHS         137 

dwell  in  tents  and  ambulatory  houses,  or  retire  to  unfruitful 
mountains,  to  prolong  an  uneasy  and  wilder  life. 

—  Jeremy  Taylor. 

It  was  a  lovely  drive,  along  winding  roads  rich  in  the  pic- 
turesque scenes  that  delight  beauty-loving  eyes.  Here  an 
ancient  monastery,  whence  the  solemn  chanting  of  the  monks 
came  down  to  them.  There  a  bare-legged  shepherd,  in  wooden 
shoes,  pointed  hat,  and  rough  jacket  over  one  shoulder,  sat 
piping  on  a  stone,  while  his  goats  skipped  among  the  rocks  or 
lay  at  his  feet.  Meek,  moss-colored  donkeys,  laden  with  pan- 
niers of  freshly  cut  grass,  passed  by,  with  a  pretty  girl  in  a 
capnline  sitting  between  the  green  piles,  or  an  old  woman  spin- 
ning with  a  distaff  as  she  went.  Brown,  soft-eyed  children  ran 
out  from  the  quaint  stone  hovels  to  offer  nosegays,  or  bunches 
of  oranges  still  on  the  bough.  Gnarled  olive  trees  covered  the 
hills  with  their  dusky  foliage,  fruit  hung  golden  in  the  orchard, 
and  great  scarlet  anemones  fringed  the  roadside ;  while  beyond 
green  slopes  and  craggy  heights  the  maritime  Alps  rose  sharp 
and  white  against  the  blue  Italian  sky. 

Valrosa  well  deserved  its  name,  for,  in  that  climate  of  per- 
petual summer,  roses  blossomed  everywhere.  They  overhung 
the  archway,  thrust  themselves  between  the  bars  of  the  great 
gate  with  a  sweet  welcome  to  passers-by,  and  lined  the  avenue, 
winding  through  lemon  trees  and  feathery  palms  up  to  the  villa 
on  the  hill.  Every  shadowy  nook,  where  seats  invited  one  to 
stop  and  rest,  was  a  mass  of  bloom  ;  every  cool  grotto  had  its 
marble  nymph  smiling  from  a  veil  of  flowers,  and  every  foun- 
tain reflected  crimson,  white,  or  pale  pink  roses,  leaning  down 
to  smile  at  their  own  beauty.  Roses  covered  the  walls  of  the 
house,  draped  the  cornices,  climbed  the  pillars,  and  ran  riot 
over  the  balustrade  of  the  wide  terrace,  whence  one  looked 
down  on  the  sunny  Mediterranean  and  the  white-walled  city 
on  its  shore. 

—  From  Little  Women,  by  Louisa  M.  Alcott,  Ch.  XXXIX. 
Little,  Brown,  and  Company,  by  permission. 


138  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

The  river  (the  Oise)  was  swollen  with  the  long  rains. 
From  Vadencourt  all  the  way  to  Origny  it  ran  with  ever- 
quickening  speed,  taking  fresh  heart  at  each  mile,  and  racing 
as  though  it  already  smelt  the  sea.  The  water  was  yellow  and 
turbulent,  swung  with  an  angry  eddy  among  half-submerged 
willows,  and  made  an  angry  clatter  along  stony  shores.  The 
course  kept  turning  and  turning  in  a  narrow  and  well-tim- 
bered valley.  Now  the  river  would  approach  the  side,  and  run 
gliding  along  the  chalky  base  of  the  hill,  and  show  us  a  few 
open  colza  fields  among  the  trees.  Now  it  would  skirt  the 
garden  walls  of  houses,  where  we  might  catch  a  glimpse 
through  a  doorway,  and  see  a  priest  pacing  in  the  checkered 
sunlight.  Again  the  foliage  closed  so  thickly  in  front  that 
there  seemed  to  be  no  issue ;  only  a  thicket  of  willows  over- 
topped by  elms  and  poplars,  under  which  the  river  ran  flush 
and  fleet,  and  where  a  kingfisher  flew  past  like  a  piece  of  the 
blue  sky.  .  .  The  light  sparkled  golden  in  the  dancing  poplar 
leaves,  and  brought  the  hills  into  communion  with  our  eyes. 
And  all  the  while  the  river  never  stopped  running  or  took 
breath,  and  the  reeds  along  the  whole  valley  stood  shivering 
from  top  to  toe. 

#####=*# 

The  river  was  more  dangerous  here ;  it  ran  swifter,  the 
eddies  were  more  sudden  and  violent.  All  the  way  down  we 
had  had  our  fill  of  difficulties.  Sometimes  it  was  a  weir  which 
could  be  shot,  sometimes  one  so  shallow  and  full  of  stakes  that 
we  must  withdraw  the  boats  from  the  water  and  carry  them 
round.  But  the  chief  sort  of  obstacle  was  a  consequence  of  the 
late  high  winds.  Every  two  or  three  hundred  yards  a  tree 
had  fallen  across  the  river,  and  usually  involved  more  than 
another  in  its  fall.  Often  there  was  free  water  at  the  end,  and 
we  could  steer  round  the  leafy  promontory  and  hear  the  water 
sucking  and  bubbling  among  the  twigs.  Often,  again,  when 
the  tree  reached  from  bank  to  bank,  there  was  room,  by  lying 
close,  to  shoot  through  underneath,  canoe  and  all.  Sometimes 
it  was  necessary  to  get  out  upon  the  trunk  itself  and  pull  the 


CONTENTS  OF  PARAGRAPHS         139 

boats  across ;  and  sometimes,  where  the  stream  was  too  impetu- 
ous for  this,  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  land  and  "  carry 
over."  This  made  a  fine  series  of  accidents  in  the  day's  career, 
and  kept  us  aware  of  ourselves. 

—  From  An  Inland  Voyage,  by  Robert  Louis  Stevenson. 

Nothing  in  the  work  has  astonished  us  so  much  as  the  igno- 
rance or  the  carelessness  of  Mr.  Croker  with  respect  to  facts 
and  dates.  Many  of  his  blunders  are  such  as  we  should  be 
surprised  to  hear  any  well-educated  gentleman  commit,  even  in 
conversation.  ...  In  one  place  Mr.  Croker  says  that  at  the 
commencement  of  the  intimacy  between  Dr.  Johnson  and  Mrs. 
Thrale,  in  1765,  the  lady  was  twenty -five  years  old.  In  other 
places  he  says  that  Mrs.  Thrale's  thirty-fifth  year  coincided 
with  Dr.  Johnson's  seventieth.  Johnson  was  born  in  1709. 
If,  therefore,  Mrs.  Thrale's  thirty -fifth  year  coincided  with 
Johnson's  seventieth,  she  could  have  been  only  twenty-one 
years  old  in  1765.  This  is  not  all.  Mr.  Croker,  in  another 
place,  assigns  the  year  1777  as  the  date  of  the  complimentary 
lines  which  Johnson  made  on  Mrs.  Thrale's  thirty-fifth  birth- 
day. If  this  date  be  correct,  Mrs.  Thrale  must  have  been  born 
in  1742,  and  could  have  been  only  twenty-three  when  her  ac- 
quaintance with  Johnson  commenced.  Mr.  Croker,  therefore, 
gives  us  three  different  statements  as  to  her  age.  Two  of  the 
three  must  be  incorrect. 

—  From  Macaulay's  Review  of  Croker's  Boswell's  Johnson. 

Neither  could  they,  with  all  the  skill  they  had,  get  again  to 
the  stile  that  night.  Wherefore,  at  last,  lighting  under  a  little 
shelter,  they  sat  down  there  till  the  day  brake ;  but,  being 
weary,  they  fell  asleep.  Now  there  was,  not  far  from  the  place 
where  they  lay,  a  castle,  called  Doubting  Castle,  the  owner 
whereof  was  Giant  Despair,  and  it  was  in  his  grounds  they 
now  were  sleeping;  wherefore  he,  getting  up  in  the  morning 
early,  and  walking  up  and  down  in  his  fields,  caught  Christian 
and  Hopeful  asleep  in  his  grounds.  Then  with  a  grim  and  surly 


140  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

voice  lie  bid  them  awake,  and  asked  them  whence  they  were, 
and  what  they  did  in  his  grounds.  They  told  him  they  were 
pilgrims,  and  that  they  had  lost  their  way.  Then  said  the 
Giant,  You  have  this  night  trespassed  on  me  by  trampling  in 
and  lying  on  my  grounds,  and  therefore  you  must  go  along 
with  me.  So  they  were  forced  to  go,  because  he  was  stronger 
than  they. 

—  From  The  Pilgrim's  Progress,  by  John  Bunyan. 

For  do  but  consider  what  an  excellent  thing  sleep  is  :  it  is 
so  estimable  a  jewel  that,  if  a  tyrant  would  give  his  crown  for 
an  hour's  slumber,  it  cannot  be  bought ;  of  so  beautiful  a  shape 
is  it,  that  though  a  man  live  with  an  empress,  his  heart  cannot 
be  at  quiet  till  he  leaves  her  embracements  to  be  at  rest  with 
the  other ;  yea,  so  greatly  are  we  indebted  to  this  kinsman  of 
death,  that  we  owe  the  better  tributary  half  of  our  life  to  him ; 
and  there  is  good  cause  why  we  should  do  so,  for  sleep  is  that 
golden  chain  that  ties  health  and  our  bodies  together. 

—  Thomas  Dekker. 

Exercise  79.  Topic  sentences.  —  Write  the  topic  sentences 
of  the  paragraphs  given  in  Exercise  78. 

Exercise  80 .  Paragraph  methods . — (a)  By  which  methods 
might  the  following  topics  be  developed?  (b}  What  kinds 
of  compositions  would  be  the  results  ?  Write  your  answers. 

1.  The  game  of  blind  man's  buff. 

2.  How  to  learn  to  skate. 

3.  The  robin. 

4.  Story  of  a  parrot. 

5.  Mistakes  made  by  poor  cooks. 

6.  Dogs  are  sometimes  very  brave  and  faithful. 

7.  Traveling  is  a  source  of  both  pleasure  and  profit. 

8.  The  wild  flowers  of  spring. 

9.  A  cat  and  a  mouse  (narrative). 
10.  The  murder  of  President  Garfield. 


CONTENTS  OF  PARAGRAPHS         141 

Exercise  81.  Paragraph  development.  —  Develop  into 
paragraphs  five  topics  given  in  the  last  exercise,  so  as  to 
have  one  of  each  type  of  paragraph  (p.  i.  c.  e.r.}. 

Exercise  82.  Writing  of  paragraphs.  —  Develop  the  fol- 
lowing summaries,  according  to  the  methods  named :  — 

1.  Joan  of  Arc.     A  peasant  girl  in  France  —  she  sees  strange 
visions  —  she  goes  to  the  king  —  becomes  leader  of  the  armies 
of  France  —  her  great  victories  —  her  capture  by  the  English 

—  she  is  burned  at  the  stake  in  Rouen.     (Method  of  particu- 
lars —  narration.) 

2.  The  blacksmith's  shop.      The  blacksmith  —  his  tools  — 
what  he  is  doing  —  the  bellows,  the  fire,  the  water  tub  —  the 
sparks  —  the   finished   work.      (Method   of   particulars  —  de- 
scription.) 

3.  A  friend  in  need  is  a  friend  indeed.      A   poor   Swede 
landed  in  New  York,  with  but  little  money  —  no  friends  — 
knew  not  where  to  go  —  had  been  cheated — suddenly  hears 
his  name  called  —  sees  a  friend  of  his  boyhood  in  Sweden  — 
the  friend  takes  him  to  his  home  —  the  Swede  gets  a  start  —  be- 
comes prosperous.  (Method  of  instance  or  example  —  narration.) 

4.  How  the  world  seems  after  a  long  illness.       As  if  one  had 
been  off  on  a  long  journey — the  very  sky  looks  strange  — 
the  people  have  changed  —  new  houses  have  been  built,  etc. 
(Method  of  comparison  —  description.) 

5.  The  snow.      It  falls  all  night  —  is  drifted  in  the  morning 

—  then  comes  a  cold  snap  —  where  the  snow  was  blown  off  the 
plants  are  frozen  —  the  thick  snow  covering  protects  the  grain 
and  the  flowers  (comparison)  —  when  it  melts  in  the  spring 
there  is  a  freshet.     (Method  of  effects.) 

6.  Take  time  by  the  forelock.      Miss  no  opportunity  —  we  do 
not  know  what  to-morrow  may  bring  forth  —  a  chance  lost  may 
never  return  —  the  sooner  we  succeed,  the  longer  we  enjoy  the 
fruits  of  success.     (Method  of  reasons.) 

1.  An  entertainment.  The  audience  —  the  music  —  the 
dialogues — the  conjurer's  tricks.  (Method  of  particulars.) 


142  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

Exercise  83.  Outlining.  —  Outline  three  of  the  para- 
graphs given  in  Exercise  78;  or  three  given  in  the  text 
of  this  chapter. 

Exercise  84.  Outline  for  original  narration.  —  This  ex- 
ercise is  in  preparation  for  Exercise  85.  Outline  the 
narration  there  called  for,  by  chief  events,  or  places,  or 
periods,  whichever  method  seems  best;  put  minor  topics 
(subtopics}  under  the  several  head-topics.  These  minor 
topics  may  be  descriptive,  or  they  may  be  merely  details 
of  the  narrative. 

Exercise  85.  Narration  of  invented  or  imaginary  occur- 
rences. —  Write  a  ghost  story,  or  a  story  of  a  boy's  struggle 
for  a  foothold  in  the  world,  or  a  story  of  adventure  or 
trial  of  some  sort.  Introduce  some  description  of  persons, 
and  of  places  or  objects.  Follow  your  outline,  developing 
your  paragraphs  with,  care  as  to  their  topics  and  their 
contents. 


CHAPTER  X 

EMPHASIS    IN    WRITING 

So  far,  in  our  study  of  sentence  making,  we  have 
had  exercises  on  the  various  elements  and  the  gram- 
matical forms  of  sentences,  on  the  securing  of  unity 
in  our  sentences,  and  on  securing  clearness  (see  Chap- 
ters IV,  VI,  and  VIII).  Now  we  may  ask,  "  Very 
well,  if  we  know  how  to  make  grammatical  sentences 
that  have  unity  and  clearness,  what  more  is  neces- 
sary?" The  answer  is,  that  those  things  are  very 
important,  —  that  they  are  more  important  than  any- 
thing else  in  making  sentences,  —  and  that  it  would  be 
far  better  not  to  study  anything  else  about  sentences 
until  we  have  thoroughly  learned  what  those  former 
chapters  teach.  But  if  we  wish  to  become  really 
skillful  writers,  there  is  something  left  to  learn  about 
sentence  making,  even  though  we  write  and  speak 
correct  and  clear  sentences.  In  this  chapter  we  are 
to  study  the  simplest  and  most  useful  ways  of  making 
emphatic  what  we  wish  to  impress  upon  the  minds 
of  those  who  read  or  hear  what  we  say. 

To  emphasize  a  statement,  or  a  part  of  a  statement, 
as  a  word  or  a  phrase,  means  to  call  special  attention 
to  it  and  to  impress  it  upon  the  mind.  The  things  we 
say  or  even  the  words  we  use  are  not  all  equally  im- 

143 


144  WAITING  IN   ENGLISH 

portant.  So,  how  shall  we  emphasize  what  we  think 
most  important  ?  Sometimes  writers,  especially  in 
school  books,  emphasize  words  and  sentences  by  print- 
ing them  in  italics  or  in  broad-faced  type.  But  in  most 
writings  (as  you  will  see  by  looking  at  magazine  articles, 
poems,  story  books,  histories,  and  other  books)  the 
words  to  be  made  emphatic  are  not  printed  in  different 
type  from  the  rest.  This  is  because  skillful  writers, 
though  they  print  all  the  words  in  the  same  type, 
know  how  to  make  their  readers  feel  what  is  meant 
to  be  specially  noticed.  There  are  numerous  ways 
of  doing  this.  Some  of  them  depend  upon  the  form 
chosen  for  the  sentence,  some  upon  the  arrangement 
of  the  parts  of  the  sentence,  and  some  upon  the 
wording  of  the  sentence. 

a.  Forms  of  sentences,  for  emphasis.  —  Most  sen- 
tences are  what  are  called  in  grammar  declarative 
sentences,  that  is,  they  state  or  assert,  and  are  closed 
with  a  period.  But  many  assertions  may  be  put  in 
the  form  of  a  question,  to  which  no  answer  is  expected, 
because  every  one  knows  what  the  answer  would  be ; 
and  a  question  thus  occurring  in  the  midst  of  declar- 
ative sentences  arrests  our  attention,  and  becomes 
more  emphatic  than  a  mere  plain  statement  would 
be.  For  example,  — 

Shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  do  right  ? 
is  much  more  striking  than  to  say, — 

The  Judge  of  all  the  earth  will  do  right. 


EMPHASIS  IN  WRITING  145 

So  also  the  exclamatory  form  of  sentence  may  be 
used  for  emphasis.  It  is  much  more  striking  to  say,  — 

How  dear  to  my  heart  are  the  scenes  of  iny  childhood ! 
than  to  say, — 

The  scenes  of  my  childhood  are  dear  to  my  heart. 

Hence,  when  you  are  writing  a  series  of  declara- 
tive sentences  and  wish  to  call  special  attention  to  a 
statement,  see  if  it  would  not  be  emphasized  if  put  into 
the  interrogative  or  the  exclamatory  form.  These 
forms,  however,  must  not  be  used  too  frequently, 
lest  through  repetition  they  lose  their  effectiveness. 

Exercise  86.  Transforming  interrogations  and  exclama- 
tions. —  Change  the  following  to  declarative  statements, 
and  note  how  much  less  emphatic  they  become  when  put 
into  the  commonplace  form. 

1.  "  How ! "  cried  the  mayor,  "  do  you  think  I'll  stand  being 
treated  worse  than  a  cook  ?  "  2.  How  few  men.  in  the  world 
are  prosperous  !  3.  When  shall  I  find  forgiveness  for  my  sin  ? 
4.  What  a  fool  am  I,  to  lie  thus  in  a  dungeon  when  I  may  as 
well  walk  at  liberty !  5.  And  as  we  are  talking  of  bragging, 
and  I  am  on  my  travels,  can  I  forget  one  mighty  republic, 
where  people  are  always  trying  to  pass  off  their  claret  for 
port  ?  6.  Nonsense,  man !  Why  so  squeamish  ?  Do  they  spare 
you?  7.  Do  these  fellows  never  give  themselves  airs  ?  8.  The 
sky  is  changed  —  and  such  a  change  !  9.  Shall  he  expire,  and 
unavenged  ?  10.  A  horse  !  a  horse  !  my  kingdom  for  a  horse  ! 
11.  How  they  '11  greet  \ls !  12.  Has  the  gentleman  done  ? 
Has  he  completely  done? 

Exercise  87.  Interrogation.  —  Put  the  following  decla- 
rations into  the  interrogative  form.  Note  that  in  changes 

WRIT.    IN    ENG. — 10 


146  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

of  this  kind  a  negative  question  conveys  the  idea  of  an 
affirmative  statement,  and  a  question  without  a  nega- 
tive, the  idea  of  a  negative  statement.  Observe  the  in- 
creased emphasis  given  by  the  interrogative  form. 

1.  This  is  not  your  house.  2.  I  did  not  know  what  I  was 
to  do.  3.  The  happiness  of  peace  can  nowhere  on  earth  be 
found.  4.  Poor  wretch,  thy  success  will  amount  to  nothing. 
5.  You  cannot  shut  the  windows  of  the  sky.  6.  There  was 
never  a  greater  surprise.  7.  That  is  good  news ;  you  have  not 
heard  better  news  for  this  month  or  more.  8.  Assyria,  Greece, 
Rome,  Carthage,  are  nothing  now.  9.  You  would  not  let  your 
little  finger  ache  for  such  as  these.  10.  This  verse  shall  to 
future  ages  tell  thou  wert  my  guide,  philosopher,  and  friend. 
11.  The  hardest  thing  we  have  to  do  is  to  learn  to  say,  "  I  was 
mistaken,  and  am  sorry."  12.  Thy  jokes,  that  used  to  set  the 
whole  table  on  the  roar,  are  no  more.  13.  You  care  little  for  a 
beggar's  story.  It  is  amusing,  perhaps,  or  you  find  it  strange. 
14.  It  could  not  be  otherwise.  15.  A  man  is  not  very  wrong 
after  all  for  being  only  a  man. 

Exercise  88.  Exclamation.  — Put  the  following  decla- 
rations into  the  exclamatory  form.  In  making  this 
change  a  writer  may  sometimes,  for  brevity  and  empha- 
sis, omit  the  verb. 

1.  Their  melody  foretells  a  world  of  merriment.  2.  Ocean, 
I  have  loved  thee  much.  3.  If  this  is  Christian  work,  I  should 
like  to  be  a  slave,  along  with  the  barbarous  Turk.  4.  It  is 
sharper  than  a  serpent's  tooth  to  have  a  thankless  child. 
5.  Sleep  is  an  excellent  thing.  6.  Ah,  well-a-day !  I  had  evil 
looks  from  old  and  young.  7.  And  see  those  sails,  they  are 
very  thin  and  sere.  8.  I  could  willingly  lay  my  head  within 
the  cold  grave's  silent  breast.  9.  Very  many  deeds  of  death- 
less virtue  and  immortal  crime  would  ne'er  have  been,  had  the 
actor  said,  I  will  do  this  to-morrow.  10.  I  wish  I  could  fitly 
describe  that  scene. 


EMPHASIS  IN   WRITING  147 

Another  point  worth  remembering  about  the  choice 
of  sentence  formations  is  that  to  quote  directly,  or 
use  what  is  called  direct  narration,  is  more  emphatic 
than  to  tell  indirectly  what  a  person  said  or  thought. 
When  you  use  direct  narration  you  give,  in  quotation 
marks,  a  person's  direct  language.  We  learned,  in 
studying  clearness  (page  115),  that  direct  narration  is 
often  useful  in  avoiding  ambiguous  pronouns ;  it  is 
also  useful  in  emphasizing  what  some  person  has 
said. 

Study  the  differences  in  the  verbs  and  pronouns  in 
the  following  examples  of  direct  and  indirect  narra- 
tion : 

(a)  Direct.  —  My    old    schoolmaster    asked    me: 
"  What  are  you  doing  now,  and  where  have  you  been 
all  these  years  ?  " 

Indirect.  —  My  old  schoolmaster  asked  me  what  I 
was  doing,  and  where  I  had  been  all  these  years. 

(b)  Direct.  —  Harry's  old  schoolmaster  asked  him  : 
"  What  are  you  doing  now,  and  where  have  you  been 
all  these  years? " 

Indirect.  —  Harry's  old  schoolmaster  asked  him 
what  he  was  doing  now,  and  where  he  had  been  all 
these  years. 

(c)  Direct.  —  Fielding  says:    "Without  adversity 
a  man  hardly  knows  whether  he  is  honest  or  not." 

Indirect.  —  Fielding  says  that  without  adversity  a 
man  hardly  knows  whether  he  is  honest  or  not. 


148  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

Exercise  89.  Indirect  narration. — Change  the  follow- 
ing frowi  direct  to  indirect  narration :  — 

1.  Mary  said  to  me,  at  last,  "  Say  you'll  let  me  stay  and 
watch  you  write.'7  2.  I  said  to  him,  "You  thought  I  was  not 
comfortable."  3.  "But  I  shall  never  try  any  more,"  said  I. 
4.  My  little  boy  said  to  me,  "Papa,  what  do  you. do  all  day 
long  while  I  am  playing  ?  "  5.  You  ask  me,  "  What  do  you  do 
all  day  ?  "  Why,  you  know  very  well  what  I  do.  I  heard  your 
mother  tell  you  only  yesterday,  "  He  goes  down  town  to  work, 
so  that  we  may  have  our  pleasant  home."  6.  Farmer  Jones 
said  to  his  neighbor  Williams,  "Your  sheep  are  in  my  meadow, 
and  I  wish  you  would  get  them  out." 

Exercise  90.  Indirect  to  direct  narration.  —  In  the  fol- 
lowing sentences  change  the  indirect  report  of  what  was 
said  by  any  one,  to  the  direct  form.  Be  careful  to  use 
quotation  marks  where  necessary,  and  to  begin  the  quoted 
saying  with  a  capital.  Be  sure  to  use  pronouns  and 
tenses  of  verbs  precisely  as  you  think  the  speaker  or  writer 
used  them ;  give  his  exact  language  as  you  think  it  was. 
Note  the  increase  in  clearness  and  emphasis. 

1.  Miss  Ophelia  told  Tom  to  go  for  the  doctor,  and  to  lose 
not  a  moment.  2.  He  asked,  in  a  low  whisper,  when  this 
change  had  taken  place.  3.  Then  Hopeful  asked  where  they 
were  now.  4.  She  asked  him  if  he  would  call  her  a  name  she 
wanted  him  to  call  her.  5.  One  day,  in  much  good  company,  I 
was  asked  whether  I  had  seen  any  of  their  struldbrugs,  or  im- 
mortals. 6.  He  told  me  to  look  no  more  on  the  bridge,  but  to 
cast  my  eyes  upon  the  thick  black  mist  into  which  the  tide 
flowed.  7.  Pope  said  that  to  err  is  human,  to  forgive  divine. 
8.  Then  the  other  man  told  his  brother  to  be  of  good  cheer ;  but 
Christian  answered  that  the  sorrows  of  death  had  compassed 
him  about,  and  he  should  not  see  the  land  that  flows  with  milk 
and  honey. 


EMPHASIS  IN   WRITING  149 

b.  Order  of  words,  for  emphasis.  —  We  have  just 
seen  that,  when  we  are  reading  a  series  of  declarative 
sentences,  our  attention  is  aroused  if  we  come  upon  a 
question  or  an  exclamation.  This  is  because  of  the 
difference  from  the  ordinary  form  of  sentence.  Now, 
for  much  the  same  reason,  certain  words  in  a  sen- 
tence may  be  made  emphatic  by  being  placed  out  of 
their  ordinary  or  regular  position.  When  we  say, 
His  locks  were  gray,  The  rain  came  down,  we  use  a 
customary  arrangement,  —  subject,  verb,  complement, 
or  modifier  of  the  verb.  Now  reverse  the  order;  say, 
Gray  were  his  locks,  Down  came  the  rain,  and  what 
is  the  effect  ?  In  the  first  sentence  gray  and  locks  are 
both  made  emphatic,  in  the  second  sentence  down 
and  rain  are  made  emphatic,  all  for  the  same  rea- 
son :  these  words  are  in  an  unusual  position  in  the 
sentence. 

Hence,  when  you  wish  to  give  to  a  word  a  special 
emphasis,  see  if  you  cannot  place  it  in  an  unusual, 
and  yet  not  absurd,  position.  If  it  is  the  subject,  put 
it  toward  or  at  the  end  of  the  sentence.  If  it  is  a 
verb,  an  adverb,  an  object  element,  or  a  predicate 
attribute,  put  it  toward  or  at  the  beginning  of  the 
sentence.  The  two  most  emphatic  positions  in  the 
sentence  are  those  of  the  first  word  and  the  last 
word.  Of  these  the  more  emphatic  is  that  of  the 
first  word. 

The  unusual  or  inverted  sentence  arrangement 
must,  of  course,  not  be  used  too  frequently.  It  is 
emphatic  only  when  it  is  used  occasionally. 


150  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

Exercise  91.  Transposed  or  inverted  order  of  words. — 
In  the  following  sentences,  note  what  words  are  made 
emphatic  by  being  in  an  unusual  position,  and  change 
the  sentences  into  the  regular  or  natural  order. 

1.  Imprudent  it  certainly  was.  2.  Generously  and  freely  did 
they  share  with  you  their  comforts  and  their  homes.  3.  Beau- 
tiful are  those  lights  and  shadows  thrown  abroad  among  the 
mountains.  4.  The  atrocious  crime  of  being  a  young  man 
I  shall  not  attempt  to  deny.  5.  Much  more  is  he  to  be  ab- 
horred, who  has  receded  from  virtue.  6.  White  as  the  snow 
were  his  locks,  and  his  cheeks  as  brown  as  the  oak  leaves. 
7.  Whom,  therefore,  ye  ignorantly  worship,  him  declare  I  unto 
you.  8.  This  is  the  state  of  man  :  to-day  he  puts  forth  the  ten- 
der leaves  of  hopes ;  to-morrow  blossoms,  and  bears  his  blushing 
honors  thick  upon  him ;  the  third  day  comes  a  frost,  a  killing 
frost.  9.  Across  the  ocean  came  a  pilgrim  bark,  bearing  the 
seeds  of  life  and  death.  10.  If  we  do  not  educate,  short  will 
be  our  race  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave. 

Exercise  92.  Inversion.  —  Change  from  the  usual  order 
to  the  emphatic  order  the  following  sentences,  by  placing 
in  emphatic  positions  the  words  which  you  think  should 
be  made  emphatic. 

1.  The  church  was  erelong  thronged  with  men.  The 
women  waited  without  in  the  churchyard.  2.  Then  their  com- 
mander uprose.  3.  The  hope  of  escape  was  vain.  4.  His 
tones  were  deep  and  solemn;  he  spake  in  accents  measured 
and  mournful.  5.  I  have  labored  among  you  forty  years  of 
my  life.  6.  The  lamps  shone  bright  o'er  fair  women  and 
brave  men.  7.  I  cannot  do  the  one,  and  the  other  I  will  not 
do.  8.  War  had  never  assumed  a  more  splendid  and  imposing 
aspect.  9.  So  he  entered  the  Netherby  hall  boldly,  among 
bridesmen,  and  kinsmen,  and  brothers,  and  all.  10.  Time 
presses  on,  still  on,  and  forever. 


EMPHASIS   IN    WRITING  151 

Another  way  to  make  words  emphatic  is  to  ar- 
range the  parts  of  a  sentence,  or  of  any  compound 
element  in  a  sentence,  in  pairs.  This  is  called  bal- 
ancing, or  antithesis.  It  places  both  the  ideas  in  con- 
trast, and  so  makes  both  emphatic.  The  two  parts 
should  be  made  similar  inform. 

Exercise  93.  Balance  and  antithesis.  —  What  words  in 
the  following  are  made  emphatic  by  contrast  ?  In  which 
sentences  are  the  balanced  ideas  similar,  and  in  which 
are  they  dissimilar? 

1.  The  mountains  look  on  Marathon,  and  Marathon  looks  on 
the  sea.  2.  Let  us  be  faithful  to  their  rude  virtues  as  men,  and 
pay  due  tribute  to  their  unhappy  fate  as  a  people.  3.  The  style 
of  Dryden  is  capricious  and  varied,  that  of  Pope  cautious  and 
uniform.  4.  Dryden  is  read  with  frequent  astonishment,  and 
Pope  with  perpetual  delight.  5.  A  professed  Catholic,  he  im- 
prisoned the  Pope ;  a  pretended  patriot,  he  impoverished  the 
country.  6.  With  one  hand  he  smote  the  house  of  Bourbon, 
and  wielded  in  the  other  the  democracy  of  England.  7.  La- 
fayette lived  chiefly  for  his  own.  age,  and  chiefly  for  his  and 
our  country ;  but  Eobert  Raikes  has  lived  for  all  ages  and  all 
countries.  8.  A  wise  son  maketh  a  glad  father,  but  a  foolish 
son  is  the  heaviness  of  his  mother.  9.  To  his  equals  he  was  con- 
descending, to  his  inferiors  kind.  10.  If  Swift's  life  was  most 
wretched,  I  think  Addison's  was  most  enviable. 

Exercise  94.  Balance  and  antithesis.  —  Make  balanced 
sentences  on  the  topics  suggested,  emphasizing  either 
likenesses  or  contrasts.  See  that  the  parks  are  similar  in 
form  of  expression. 

1.  The  stormy  night  —  the  calm  morning. 

2.  To  spend  money  —  to  save  money. 

3.  Lincoln  —  Washington. 


152  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

4.  Hamilton  —  Benedict  Arnold. 

5.  The  violet  —  the  peony. 

6.  The  dog  —  the  horse. 

7.  Generosity  —  selfishness. 

8.  The  South  during  the  Revolution  —  the  North. 

9.  The  town  pump — the  grog  shop. 

10.  The  poetry  of  Longfellow  —  that  of  Scott. 

Exercise  95.  Balanced  construction.  —  Make  the  corre- 
sponding parts  in  the  following  sentences  similar,  so  as 
to  make  the  balancing  clear  and  pleasing. 

EXAMPLES  :  (a)  He  expected  a  reproof,  and  that  his  mother 
would  punish  him.  (Word  object  balanced  against  clause 
object.) 

Improved  :  He  expected  that  his  mother  would  reprove  and 
punish  him. 

(6)  He  had  a  tall  and  commanding  figure,  and  his  face  was 
strikingly  handsome.  (Figure  and  face  are  balanced  improp- 
erly ;  one  is  an  object,  the  other  a  subject.) 

Improved :  (make  figure  the  subject  in  the  first  clause,  or 
make  face  an  object  in  the  second  clause). 

1.  The  tears  gushed  from  his  eyes,  and  his  face  was  de- 
prived of  its  color.  2.  He  concluded  that  he  would  return 
home,  and  if  his  parents  forgave  him,  he  would  live  an  honest 
life.  3.  So  faithful  in  love,  and  a  dauntless  warrior,  there  was 
never  knight  like  the  young  Lochinvar.  4.  He  winds  up  the 
ascent  of  the  stairs,  and  the  door  of  the  chamber  is  reached. 
5.  We  delight  in  the  bracing  air  of  winter,  and  in  the  summer 
that  is  warm  and  bright.  6.  To  err  is  human,  but  forgiveness 
is  divine.  7.  About  the  river  of  human  life  there  is  a  wintry 
wind,  though  a  sunshine  that  is  heavenly.  8.  You  repaid  them 
by  fraud,  oppression,  and  conduct  that  was  dishonorable.  9.  He 
preferred  a  brisk  walk  across  the  green  fields  rather  than  to 
ride  in  the  cushioned  carriage.  10.  He  believed  in  one's  doing 


EMPHASIS   IN   WRITING  153 

the  best  one  knew  how,  and  that  by  such  a  course  one  would 
become  wise  and  happy.  11.  John  was  told  not  to  venture 
on  that  bridge,  and,  in  fact,  that  he  should  not  leave  the  yard. 

When  Patrick  Henry  said,  "  We  have  petitioned  ; 
we  have  remonstrated;  we  have  prostrated  ourselves 
at  the  foot  of  the  throne,"  he  arranged  his  statements 
in  the  order  of  their  strength  and  proper  emphasis, 
beginning  with  the  weakest  statement  and  ending 
with  the  strongest.  If  he  had  used  a  different  order, 
some  of  the  strength  of  his  utterance  would  be  gone. 
The  arrangement  of  ideas  in  the  order  of  increasing 
emphasis,  is  called  climax. 

Exercise  96.  Climax. — In  the  following  sentences 
arrange  the  ideas  in  the  order  of  climax. 

1.  When  shall  we  be  stronger  ?  Will  it  be  when  we  are 
totally  disarmed,  and  when  a  British  guard  shall  be  stationed 
in  every  house  ?  Will  it  be  the  next  week,  or  the  next  year  ? 
2.  His  death-bell  is  tolling,  black  is  the  bier,  and  the  war  drum 
is  muffled.  3.  Must  I  observe  you  ?  Must  I  stand  and  crouch 
under  your  testy  humor  ?  Must  I  budge  ?  4.  A  tory!  hustle 
him  !  a  spy  !  away  with  him !  a  refugee  !  5.  If  we  must  die, 
let  it  be  under  the  clear  sky,  by  the  bright  waters,  in  noble, 
honorable  battle  !  If  we  must  fight,  let  us  fight  for  ourselves ! 
If  we  must  slaughter,  let  us  slaughter  our  enemies.  6.  Did  I 
become  drunk  ?  and  squabble  ?  swear  ?  speak  parrot  ?  swag- 
ger ?  7.  If  you  tickle  us,  do  we  not  laugh  ?  If  you  wrong  us, 
shall  we  not  revenge  ?  If  you  poison  us,  do  we  not  die  ?  If 
you  prick  us,  do  we  not  bleed  ?  8.  To  be  now  a  sensible  man, 
presently  a  beast,  and  by  and  by  a  fool ! 

Somewhat  similar  to  the  principle  of  climax  is  that 
which  tells  us  that  the  clause  or  statement  we  wish 


154  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

to  emphasize  should  be  placed  at  the  end  of  the  sen- 
tence. In  the  following  two  arrangements,  see  how 
much  more  emphatic  the  first  sentence  is  than  the 
second :  — 

0  them  invisible  spirit  of  wine,  if  thou  hast  no  name  to  be 
known  by,  let  us  call  thee  devil !  —  Shakspere. 

0  thou  invisible  spirit  of  wine,  let  us  call  thee  devil,  if  thou 
hast  no  name  to  be  known  by. 

So  in  general  it  is  much  more  forcible  to  put  the 
modifying  phrases  and  clauses,  as  much  as  possible, 
toward  the  beginning,  and  so  to  put  the  main  state- 
ment toward  or  at  the  end.  Sentences  thus  formed 
are  called  suspended  or  periodic.  It  is  not  emphatic 
to  make  a  statement  and  then  add  modifiers.  Such 
a  sentence  is  called  a  loose  sentence.  Loose  sentences 
are  by  no  means  always  faulty,  because  they  avoid 
stiffness  and  the  tiresomeness  that  would  result  if  all 
the  sentences  were  of  the  suspended  or  periodic  sort. 
Besides,  we  may  wish  to  emphasize  a  certain  modifier  ; 
then  we  should  place  it  in  an  emphatic  position,  as  at 
the  beginning  or  at  the  end. 

We  should  know  the  difference  between  loose  and 
periodic  sentences,  and  should  be  able  easily  to  change 
one  form  into  the  other.  Then  we  may  choose,  as  we 
write,  which  form  we  need  to  use.  In  general,  tbe 
periodic  form,  since  it  does  not  complete  the  main 
statement  until  at  or  near  the  end  of  the  sentence,  is 
the  more  emphatic ;  while  the  loose  form  is  the  more 
familiar. 


EMPHASIS   IN  WRITING  155 

Exercise  97.  Suspended  structure.  —  In  the  following 
sentences,  rearrange  the  parts  so  as  to  make  periodic  sen- 
tences, or  so  as  to  place  at  the  end  what  ought  to  be  empha- 
sized. Note  what  words  are  made  emphatic  by  the 
rearrangement. 

1.  Thou  diest,  and  all  thy  goods  are  confiscate,  if  thou  takest 
more  or  less  than  just  a  pound  of  flesh.  2.  I  was  ill-tempered, 
too,  when  I  spoke  that.  3.  The  rank  thistle  nodded  in  the 
wind  and  the  wild  fox  dug  his  hole  unscared  not  many  genera- 
tions ago,  where  you  now  sit,  encircled  with  all  that  exalts  and 
embellishes  civilized  life.  4.  The  Indian  hunter  pursued  the 
panting  deer,  beneath  the  same  sun  that  rolls  over  your  head. 
5.  And  here  curled  the  smoke  of  peace,  when  the  tiger  strife 
was  over.  6.  He  still  retained  his  good  humor  in  this  mansion 
of  distress  (a  prison),  though  denied  all  amusements,  and  even 
the  conveniences  of  life,  and  entirely  cut  off  from  all  inter- 
course with  his  friends.  7.  He  called  it  "  seeing  life  "  when- 
ever he  fell  into  any  misery.  8.  Stand  here  like  fat  oxen 
waiting  to  be  killed,  if  ye  are  beasts.  Follow  me  if  ye  are 
men.  9.  Said  John,  "  It  is  my  wedding  day,  and  if  I  should 
dine  at  Edmonton  and  my  wife  should  dine  at  Ware,  all  the 
world  would  stare."  10.  Unless  you  are  a  coward,  try  that 
again.  11.  And,  sir,  American  liberty  still  lives,  in  the  strength 
of  its  manhood,  and  full  of  its  original  spirit,  where  it  raised 
its  first  voice,  and  where  its  youth  was  nurtured  and  sustained. 
12.  At  the  head  of  this  vanguard  rode  the  Bishop  of  Avila, 
upon  a  snow-white  palfrey,  followed  by  a  long  train  of  bare- 
footed monks.  13.  A  woman  sat,  in  unwomanly  rags,  plying 
her  needle  and  thread,  with  fingers  weary  and  worn  and  with 
eyelids  heavy  and  red.  14.  The  ladies  in  the  gallery  were  in 
a  state  of  uncontrollable  emotion,  being  unaccustomed  to  such 
displays  of  eloquence,  excited  by  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion, 
and  perhaps  not  unwilling  to  display  their  taste  and  sensibility. 
15.  At  the  dead  hour  of  midnight,  when  all  was  silent  in  the 
garden,  into  the  lock  of  the  wicket  which  opened  into  the  cas- 
tle garden,  the  page  put  the  key. 


156  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

c.  Choice  of  words,  for  emphasis.  —  To  repeat  an 
idea  simply  for  the  sake  of  filling  up  space,  or  for  the 
reason  that  one  has  little  to  say,  is  very  annoying  to 
the  reader,  and  very  characteristic  of  a  poor  writer. 
To  say,  "  The  entire  gallery  was  all  lighted  with 
brilliant  lights,  which  were  placed  in  every  part  of 
the  room,"  means  nothing  more  than  that  "the  en- 
tire gallery  was  brilliantly  lighted."  The  words 
"all,"  "with  lights,"  "which  were  placed  in  every 
part  of  the  room,"  are  unnecessary  —  they  really  add 
nothing  to  the  meaning  of  the  sentence.  Such  words 
are  said  to  be  redundant. 

Exercise  98.  Redundancy.  —  Correct  the  following  sen- 
tences by  getting  rid  of  all  unnecessary  words:  — 

1.  He  is  a  universal  favorite  among  all  his  friends.  2.  I  was 
called  upon  by  a  poor-looking  widow  woman,  who  visited  my 
office  the  other  day.  3.  There  is  an  ample  abundance  of  food 
here,  that  will  serve  all  of  us  plentifully.  4.  He  cut  the  grass 
with  a  keen  and  sharp  scythe  that  needed  no  whetting.  5.  In 
this  work  we  are  necessarily  forced  to  meet  many  difficult  ob- 
stacles that  will  be  hard  for  us  to  overcome.  6.  They  often 
benefit  by  it  sometimes,  for  experience  is  the  best  teacher. 
7.  We  must  repeat  the  lesson  over  and  over  again. 

The  repetition  of  a  word  or  of  a  form  of  expression, 
however,  is  often  very  emphatic.  In  your  writing  do 
not  be  afraid  to  repeat,  therefore,  provided  you  have 
the  intention  of  making  something  clear  and  em- 
phatic by  the  repetition. 

Note  the  strong  effect  produced  by  repetition  either 
of  meaning  or  of  language  in  the  following  passages : 


EMPHASIS  IN  WRITING  157 

1.  They  are  meant  for  us ;  they  can  be  meant  for  no  other. 

2.  What  is  it  that  gentlemen  wish  ?    What  would  they  have  ? 

3.  Kemember  March,   the  ides   of  March  remember  !     4.  No 
villain  regards  the  Sabbath.     No  vicious  family  regards  the 
Sabbath.     No  immoral  community  regards  the  Sabbath.     5.  If 
we  wish  to  be  free  ;  if  we  mean  to  preserve  inviolate  those  ines- 
timable privileges  for  which  we  have  been  so  long  contending; 
if  we  mean  not  basely  to  abandon  the  noble  struggle  in  which 
we  have  been  so  long  engaged,  we  must  fight !  I  repeat  it  —  we 
must  fight !  An  appeal  to  arms  and  the  God  of  Hosts  is  all 
that  is  left  us. 

6.     Work!  work!  work! 
Till  the  brain  begins  to  swim ; 

Work  !  work  !  work  ! 
Till  the  eyes  are  heavy  and  dim. 

Seam  and  gusset  and  band, 
Band  and  gusset  and  seam, 

Till  over  the  buttons  I  fall  asleep, 
And  sew  them  on  in  a  dream.  • 

7.  By  foreign  hands  thy  dying  eyes  were  closed, 
By  foreign  hands  thy  decent  limbs  composed, 
By  foreign  hands  thy  humble  grave  adorned, 
By  strangers  honored,  and  by  strangers  mourned. 

We  may  sometimes  emphasize  -an  idea  by  denying 
the  opposite  of  it.  Thus,  to  say,  "  This  has  been  no 
easy  task,"  is  a  way  of  saying  emphatically  that  the 
task  was  difficult.  It  has  this  effect  because  a  milder 
statement  than  we  expect  attracts  the  attention  and 
gives  an  impression  of  care  and  accuracy,  leading  us 
to  give  full  weight  to  what  is  said.  But  sometimes, 
of  course,  denying  the  opposite  makes  a  statement 
more  cautious,  and  therefore  less  direct  and  emphatic. 


158  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

Exercise  99.  Denying  the  opposite.  —  Change  the  fol- 
lowing sentences  by  denying  the  contrary  of  what  is  said. 
Note  whether  the  original  or  the  changed  sentence  is  the 
more  emphatic. 

1.  She  is  a  lazy  girl.  2.  This  was  an  event  of  great  impor- 
tance. 3.  As  I  lay  crouched  in  the  hogshead,  hearing  the 
soldiers  near  at  hand,  my  position  was  uncomfortable.  4.  I  am 
a  grown  man.  5.  He  stood  still.  6.  It  was  a  very  dull  town 
(give  negative  particulars).  7.  Just  before  the  storm  broke 
there  was  a  great  silence  in  the  forest  (mention  sounds  that 
were  not  heard).  8.  It  was  a  wretched  place  for  a  little  child 
to  be  growing  up  (give  negative  particulars). 

There  is  still  another  suggestion  to  be  offered,  with 
regard  to  making  ideas  emphatic.  It  is  much  less 
striking  to  say,  — 

He  had  but  a  wretched  shelter  all  that  stormy  night ; 
than  to  say,  — 

He  had  but  a  thorn  bush  to  huddle  under  all  that  stormy 
night. 

The  reason  why  the  latter  is  more  emphatic,  is 
that  the  word  "  thorn  bush  "  is  more  definite  than 
"  shelter."  To  illustrate  again,  "  swallow-tail  coat " 
is  more  definite  than  "  garment,"  because  a  swallow- 
tail coat  is  one  particular  kind  of  garment.  Specific 
words  produce  a  vivid  effect  of  reality,  while  general 
words  are  often  vague  and  colorless. 

txercise  100.  Specific  words.  —  In  the  following  pairs 
of  words,  which  are  the  more  specific  terms  ? 

1.  Horse,  animal.  2.  Hopping,  moving.  3.  Purple,  color. 
4.  Melancholy,  state  of  feeling.  5.  Reptile,  snake.  6.  Exer- 
cise, walking.  7.  Food,  boiled  potatoes.  8.  Monarch,  king. 


EMPHASIS   IN   WRITING  159 

Exercise  101.  Use  of  specific  words.  —  In  the  following 
sentences  substitute  for  the  italicized  words  others  that 
are  more  specific.  Note  the  increase  in  emphasis  or 
force. 

1.  As  I  saw  a  larger  boy  strike  his  playfellow,  I  was  sud- 
denly filled  with  a  strong  emotion.  2.  Burrowing  animals  have 
holes  and  creatures  of  the  air  have  nests,  but  the  Son  of  Man 
hath  not  any  place  to  rest.  3.  Old  age  may  sometimes  be  piti- 
ful, but  it  cannot  be  so  bad  as  certain  kinds  of  disease  or  some 
species  of  misfortune.  4.  His  clothes  were  ragged  and  torn 
(specify  the  garments,  with  particulars).  5.  He  was  never  a 
studious  man  ;  what  cared  he  for  the  subjects  treated  of  in  books? 
6.  I  had  seen  many  wild  animals,  but  I  never  before  was  placed 
in  a  position  so  full  of  discomfort  as  this.  7.  On  the  table 
were  various  fruits  and  two  or  three  dishes  I  was  fondest  of. 
It  was  worth  being  sick  three  weeks  to  be  able  so  to  enjoy 
taking  food  again.  8.  After  all,  a  writing  instrument  is  mightier 
than  an  instrument  of  battle.  9.  Consider  the  jlowers  of  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  how  they  grow ;  they  toil  not,  neither  do 
they  manufacture  fabrics,  and  yet  I  say  unto  you  that  no  mighty 
king  in  all  his  glory  was  ever  arrayed  like  one  of  these.  10. 
Men  do  not  gather  good  fruits  from  dry  and  unfriendly  •!•?.  lies. 

Exercise  102.  Tabular  review. — Make  in  the  form  of  a 
table  a  review  of  all  the  suggestions  given  in  this  chapter 
for  securing  emphasis. 

Exercise  103.  Application  of  review.  —  Examine  one 
of  your  own  compositions,  and  see  if  you  can  improve 
any  sentences  in  any  of  the  ways  named  in  your  re- 
view (Exercise  102}.  If  you  can  add  emphasis  by  rear- 
rangement, by  change  of  sentence- form,  or  by  a  better 
choice  of  words,  copy  out  the  sentences  and  place  the  im- 
proved forms  beside  them,  thus:  — 

Sentences  to  be  improved.         Improved  forms. 


160  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

Exercise  104.  Review  of  direct  narration.  —Rewrite  the 
following  passages  after  deciding  where  direct  narration 
might  well  be  used.  In  writing  direct  quotations  be  care- 
ful as  to  punctuation  and  use  of  capitals. 

1.  The  countryman,  who  was  of   a  goodly  presence,  then 
came  in,  and  it  might  be  seen  a  thousand  leagues  oft'  that  he 
was  an  honest,  good  soul.     He  asked  which  among  them  there 
was  the  lord  governor.     The  secretary  answered  that  of  course 
it  was  he  who  was  seated  in  the  chair.     The  countryman  said 
he  humbled  himself  in  the  governor's  presence,  and  kneeling 
down,  he  begged  for  his  hand  to  kiss.     Sancho  refused  it,  and 
commanded  him  to  rise  and  tell  his  business.    The  countryman 
did  so,  and  said  he  was  a  husbandman,  a  native  of  Miguel 
Turra. 

2.  I  asked  him  if  he  left  her  the  four  shillings,  too,  which  he 
had  said  was  his  week's  pay.     He  answered  that  he  had,  and 
that  I  should  hear  her  admit  it.     So  he  called  Rachel  again  — 
which  it  seems  was  her  name  —  and  asked  her  if  she  had 
gotten   the  money.     She  said  she  had.     He  asked  her  how 
much  it  was.     She  answered  that  it  was  four  shillings  and  a 
groat.     Then  praying  God's  blessing  upon  her,  he  turned  to  go 
away. 

3.  Now,  as  they  came  to  these  places,  behold,  the  gardener 
stood  in  the  way,  of  whom  the  pilgrims  asked  whose  goodly 
vineyards  and  gardens  those  were  that  they  saw.    He  answered 
that  they  were  the   King's,  and  were   placed   there  for  his 
own  delight,  and   also  for   the  solace  of  pilgrims.      So   the 
gardener  led  them  into  the  vineyards  and  bade  them  refresh 
themselves. 

4.  The  merchant  said  he  had  a  weakness  for  young  men, 
and  though  he  knew  the  danger  of  disappointing  his  master, 
the  Pasha,  he  was  unable  to  resist  the  young  man's  supplica- 
tions.    So  he  told  him  to  take  the  necklace,  but  demanded 
that  the  young  man  promise  to  give  whatever  he,  the  merchant, 
might  ask  in  exchange.     The  young  man  replied  that  he  might 
take  his  head  itself  if  he  wanted  to,  for  he  had  saved  his  life. 


EMPHASIS  IN  WRITING  161 

Exercise  105.  Review  of  interrogation  and  of  exclama- 
tion.— In  the  following  passages  decide  which  few  sen- 
tences might  well  be  made  interrogatory  or  exclamatory, 
and  rewrite  such  sentences  in  the  desired  forms  :  — 

1.  These  are  the  mansions  of  good  men,  he  said ;  every  island 
is  a  paradise  accommodated  to  its  inhabitants.     He  thought 
these  were  habitations  worth  contending  for.     Life,  he  said, 
did  not  appear  miserable,  that  gave  me  opportunities  of  earn- 
ing such  a  reward.     Death  was  not  to  be  feared,  that  would 
convey  me  to  so  happy  an  existence. 

2.  "  Look  for  the  knight  in  dark  armor,  fair  Kebecca,  and  see 
how  he  bears  himself :  for  as  the  leader  is,  so  will  his  followers 
be."     "I   see  him  not,"  said  Kebecca.     "He  is  a  foul  craven," 
said  Ivanhoe ;  "  it  seems  he  blenches  from  the  helm  when  the 
wind   blows  highest."     "He   does   not   blench,   he   does   not 
blench,"  said  Rebecca ;  "  I  see  him  now ;  he  leads  a  body  of 
men  close  under  the  outer  barriers." 

3.  The  day  was  made  for  laziness,  and  lying  on  one's  back 
in  green  places,  and  staring  at  the  sky.     This  was  not  a  time 
to  be  poring  over  musty  books  in  a  dark  room.     The  idea  was 
monstrous. 

4.  "  I  have  no  power  to  speak,  sir."  "  I  am  astonished  to  see 
that  you  are  amazed  at  my  misfortunes.     It  is  strange  to  me 
that  you  can  wonder  that  a  great  man  may  decline." 

5.  Our  hearts  bound  to  the  music  of  the  solitary  cries  we 
hear  in  the  mountains,  to  the  tinkle  of  the  gushing  rills,  to  the 
sound  of  their  cataracts.     The  odors  that  breathe  from  the  up- 
land turf,  from  the  rock-hung  flower,  from  the  hoary  and  solemn 
pine,  are  very  inspiriting.    The  transparent  haze  that  is  din0 used 
over  the  valleys  and  the  lower  slopes,  as  over  a  vast  picture,  is 
very  beautiful. 

6.  Our  brethren  are  already  in  the  field.     There  is  no  good 
reason  why  we  should  stand  here  idle.     We  cannot  wish  peace 
with  dishonor.     Life  is  not  so  dear,  in  my  opinion,  or  peace  so 
sweet,  as  to  be  purchased  at  the  price  of  chains  and  slavery. 

WRIT.   IN  ENG.  —  11 


CHAPTER     XI 

LETTER    WRITING 

WHEN  we  consider  that,  for  most  of  us,  perhaps 
three  fourths  of  the  writing  we  do  after  leaving 
school  is  in  the  form  of  letters,  we  ought  to  take  es- 
pecial care  to  learn  how  to  write  letters  in  proper 
form  and  with  skillful  expression.  Letters,  of  course, 
may  contain  any  of  the  four  kinds  of  composition, 
but  usually  they  are  occupied  with  description  or 
narration,  except  in  certain  types  of  business  let- 
ters. In  the  body  of  a  letter  dealing  with  several 
topics,  we  should  take  the  same  care  in  inden- 
tion for  new  paragraphs  as  in  any  other  form  of 
composition. 

Letters  are  divided  into  (a)  social  letters  and  (b) 
business  letters.  The  first  are  either  informal  and 
personal,  or  formal.  The  difference  here  is  that  the 
informal  style  is  more  familiar  and  easy,  employing 
naturally  the  first  and  second  personal  pronouns; 
while  the  formal  style,  as  used  often  in  invitations, 
acceptances,  and  regrets,  is  distant  in  manner,  though 
of  course  courteous,  and  employs  the  third  personal 
pronoun. 

162 


LETTER  WRITING  163 

I.     SOCIAL    CORRESPONDENCE 

Examples  of  formal  notes 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hobart  H.  Vermilye  request  the 
pleasure  of  Mr.  Da  vis's  company  at  dinner,  Wednesday, 
February  sixteenth,  at  seven  o'clock. 

14  Brattle  Street. 

Mr.  Davis  regrets  extremely  that  a  previous  engage- 
ment prevents  his  accepting  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vermilye's 
kind  invitation  for  Wednesday  evening. 

17  Washington  Square, 
February  eleventh. 

Will  Miss  Clark  kindly  excuse  Helen's  unavoidable 
absence  yesterday  from  school,  and  oblige  her  mother, 

KATE  M.  BURNETT. 
124  West  Fiftieth  Street, 
Wednesday  morning. 

It  should  be  observed  in  reading  these  notes  that 
the  writer  begins  at  once  what  he  has  to  say;  that 
the  place,  and,  whenever  necessary,  the  date  of  the 
writing  are  put  after  the  note,  at  the  left ;  that  the 
day  of  the  month  is  written  out;  that  the  year, 
in  such  notes,  is  usually  not  mentioned  ;  and  that  pro- 
nouns of  the  first  or  the  second  person  are  not  used. 
Notes  meant  to  be  formal  must  not  contain  any  infor- 
mal expressions.  It  is  absurd  to  begin  formally,  in 
the  third  person,  and  end  with  "Yours  very  truly,"  or 
the  like.  Formal  notes  should  be  so  arranged  that  no 


164  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

name  shall  be  partly  on  one  line  and  partly  on  an- 
other. 

In  all  letters  the  writer  should  be  careful  to  preserve 
a  half -inch  margin  at  the  left  of  each  page,  and  should 
not  write  anything  within  an  inch  or  more  of  the  top 
of  the  first  page ;  but  in  formal  notes  much  more  care 
must  be  taken  with  regard  to  all  margins.  The 
spaces  left  blank  at  the  top  and  the  bottom  of  the 
page  should  be  about  equal. 

In  informal  social  notes  or  letters,  the  aim  should 
be  to  write  easily  and  more  or  less  conversationally. 
It  is  sometimes  difficult  to  make  a  careful  description 
or  a  somewhat  long  narrative  seem  easy  and  uns tilted. 
This  means  only  that  real  excellence  in  letter  writing, 
as  in  most  other  efforts,  is  none  too  common.  The 
writer  should  at  least,  however,  be  able  to  choose  the 
forms  of  address  and  of  closing  that  are  fitting.  You 
would  hardly  write  to  a  close  and  intimate  friend 
with  the  salutation  "Dear  Sir"  and  the  ending 
"Yours  respectfully."  In  social  letters  one  may 
choose  from  such  forms  of  salutation  as  these :  — 

My  dear  Charles : 
Dear  Mother: 
Dear  Uncle  Henry: 
Dear  Miss  Reed: 

To  use  "my"  before  "dear"  in  a  salutation  adds  some 
formality — lessens  the  tone  -of  intimacy  or  of  cor- 
diality. 


LETTER  WRITING  165 

The  following  are  some  forms  of  closing  for  social 
letters : — 

Cordially  yours,  Believe    me,   yours    faith- 
Yours  most  sincerely,  fully? 

As  ever,  yours,  Your  affectionate  cousin, 

Your  loving  son,  Your  loving  daughter, 

Whether  you  should  sign  your  full  name  after  such 
forms  of  closing,  or  only  your  first  name  or  a  nick- 
name depends,  of  course,  upon  your  relation  to  your 
correspondent.  Do  .not  write  "  Yours,  etc." 

In  a  social  letter  it  is  necessary  to  have  the  follow- 
ing parts  :  — 

The  heading ',  giving  place  and  time  of  writing.  This 
information  is,  except  in  brief  informal  notes  (see 
model  below),  put  at  the  top  of  the  letter,  toward  the 
right.  The  place  of  writing  must  be  given  with  suf- 
ficient detail  to  enable  your  correspondent  to  address 
his  letter  to  you  properly. 

The  salutation,  to  be  placed  a  line  below  the  head- 
ing, but  at  the  left.  Examples  of  forms  of  salutation 
have  already  been  given. 

The  body  of  the  letter. 

TJie  form  of  dosing,  toward,  but  not  reaching  to, 
the  right-hand  margin,  at  the  end  of  the  letter. 
Examples  already  given. 

TJie  signature. 


166  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

Examples  of  social  correspondence 

1.  Informal  note. 

DEAR  MRS.  PATTISON  : 

Will  you  have  the  kindness  to  send  me,  by  the  bearer 
of  this  note,  Lanciani's  "  Ancient  Rome  "  ?  It  will  be 
very  useful  to  me  in  the  preparation  of  my  article  on 

Roman  life. 

sincerely  yours, 

2025  Seventh  Avenue,  MARION  S.  WRIGHT. 

Monday,  Nov.  8. 

2.  A  letter  to  a  friend  or  relative.     (Note.  —  As  the 
following  letter  of  Rossetti's  does  not  illustrate  the 
point,  it  should  be  noted  that  it  is  always  advisable 
to  write  somewhere,  even  in  a  private  letter,  the  full 
name  of  the  person  to  whom  the  letter  is  written. 
Otherwise  it  may  be  impossible  to  determine  after- 
ward to  whom  the  letter  was  written.     The  name 
and  address  may  well  be  placed  at  the  end,  to  the  left.) 

14  Chatham  Place,  London, 
Monday,  19  May,  1856. 

MY  DEAR  AUNT  CHARLOTTE  : 

I  will  certainly  paint  Aunt  Eliza  for  you  as  soon  as 
she  comes  to  town.  It  will  not  be  any  great  tax  on  my 
time,  as  a  portrait  is  a  thing  needing  no  forethought, 
and  to  be  taken  up  at  any  moment. 

If  Lady  Bath  wishes  to  favor  me  with  a  visit,  the 
best  time  would  be  now,  as  I  happen  to  have  two  or 


LETTER  WRITING  167 

three  things  just  finished,  still  by  me  —  especially  a 
drawing  from  Dante's  "  Vita  Nuova,"  which  I  should 
have  much  pleasure  in  showing  her.  It  is  better 
worth  seeing  than  "The  Monk,"  which  is  not  yet 
finished,  but  which  I  could  show  her  also.  I  should 
also  very  much  like  to  show  you  the  things,  if  you 
come  with  Lady  Bath,  supposing  she  is  able  to  give 
me  that  pleasure. 

Your  affectionate  nephew, 

D.  G.  KOSSETTI. 

Exercise  106.  Formal  notes.  —  (a)  Write  a  formal  note, 
inviting  a  friend  to  a  luncheon.  (&)  Write  an  acceptance 
of  the  invitation,  (c)  Write  a  note  of  regret  in  response 
to  an  invitation  to  a  wedding. 

Exercise  107.  Informal  notes.  —  (a)  Write  a  note,  ac- 
knowledging the  receipt  of  a  Christmas  present.  (#) 
Write  a  note  to  a  friend,  to  thank  him  for  the  use  of  a 
book  ivhich  you  are  returning.  Mention  the  book  ~by 
name,  and  give  your  opinion  of  it.  (c)  Write  a  note  to  a 
friend,  asking  him  to  meet  you  at  a  certain  time  and 
place,  and  stating  the  purpose  of  the  meeting,  (d)  Write 
a  note  introducing  one  of  your  friends  to  a  person  resid- 
ing in  a  city  which  your  friend  is  about  to  visit. 

In  addressing  the  envelope  of  a  letter,  observe  the 
following  suggestions :  — 

1.  The  name  of  the  person  addressed  should  usu- 
ally be  preceded  by  Miss,  Mrs.,  or  Mr.,  as  the  case 
may  be.  In  addressing  a  minister  or  a  doctor,  use 
such  a  form  as  Rev.  S.  C.  Burgess  or  Dr.  Charles 
Probasco.  Do  not  give,  in  such  cases,  the  last  name 


168  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

only.  In  addressing  lawyers  and  perhaps  some  other 
classes  of  men,  instead  of  Mr.  before  the  name,  Esq. 
may  be  written  after  it.  The  title  Hon.  is  appropri- 
ate only  to  a  Congressman,  a  Judge,  or  other  public 
official.  In  addressing  a  business  firm,  the  title 
Messrs,  is  frequently  used  when  the  firm  name  in- 
cludes the  names  of  persons,  as  Messrs.  Brown, 
Johnston,  and  Company.  Of  course  one  would  not 
write  "  Messrs.  American  Book  Company." 

2.  The  direction  of  the  letter  to  street  and  num- 
ber (when  necessary),  city  or  town,  and  State,  should 
follow  below  the  name  of  the  person  or  firm  ad- 
dressed, and  should  be  placed  as  in  the  models  given 
on  the  next  page.  The  name  of  the  city  or  town 
and  that  of  the  State  may  be  written  on  the  same 
line.  As  a  rule,  the  names  of  States  should  not  be 
abbreviated.  The  post  office  box  number,  if  it  is 
necessary  to  use  it  in  the  address,  may  be  placed 
toward  the  lower  left-hand  corner  of  the  envelope. 
If  the  letter  is  important,  the  name  and  address  of 
the  sender  should  be  given  on  the  upper  left-hand 
corner.  In  addressing  a  letter  of  introduction  (see 
Exercise  107,  d),  it  is  customary  to  write  in  the 
lower  left-hand  part  of  the  envelope  the  form  of 
words,  "  Introducing  Mr.  Charles  E.  Smalley" 

What  is  written  on  the  envelope  is  called  the 
superscription.  No  punctuation  marks  need  be  used 
at  the  ends  of  the  lines  in  the  superscription,  except 
to  mark  abbreviations.  The  stamp  should  always  be 
placed  in  the  upper  right-hand  corner. 


LETTER  WRITING 


169 


Examples  of  superscriptions 


66   <$>i 


From  A.  B.  See, 
Oberlin,  Ohio,  U.S.A. 


1TO  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

II.  BUSINESS  LETTERS  are  arranged  according  to 
the  following  example :  — 

312  Ohio  Avenue, 
CINCINNATI,  OHIO,  July  3,  1896. 

MR.  EVAN  HARRINGTON, 
12  West  2d  Street,  New  York. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  The  clothing  recently  sent 
me  by  you  (shipped  June  21)  is  of  such  inferior  qual- 
ity that  I  am  unwilling  to  offer  it  to  my  customers. 
Your  house  has  always  dealt  fairly  with  me  hereto- 
fore, but  I  am  obliged  to  advise  you  that  the  recent 
shipment  is  wholly  unsatisfactory,  and  will  be  laid 
aside  until  your  directions  regarding  it  are  received. 
An  immediate  reply  will  be  a  favor  to 

Yours  respectfully, 

NICHOLAS  NICKLEBY. 


It  will  be  noted  that  in  this  form  of  letter  not 
only  are  the  parts  used  in  the  social  letter  given,  — 
the  heading,  the  salutation,  the  body  of  the  letter, 
the  form  of  closing,  and  the  signature,  —  but  the 
name  and  address  of  the  firm  or  person  to  whom  the 
letter  is  written,  are  placed  above  the  salutation. 
Sometimes,  perhaps  less  formally,  these  are  placed 
after  the  letter,  toward  the  left,  on  the  lines  below 
the  signature,  as  in  the  next  following  letter. 

In  business  letters  to  women,  whether  married  or 
unmarried,  the  form  of  salutation  is  "  Dear  Madam." 
To  men  the  usual  form  is  "  Dear  Sir"  or  "Dear 


LETTER  WRITING  171 

Sirs."  For  the  latter,  "  Gentlemen "  is  sometimes 
used.  "  Madam,"  a  Sir  "  or  "  Sirs  "  is  purely  formal. 
Women,  in  signing  a  letter,  should  write  in  paren- 
theses Mrs.  or  Miss,  as  the  case  may  be.  A  married 
woman,  after  signing  her  own  name  in  full,  should 
add,  in  parentheses,  Mrs.,  followed  by  her  husband's 
name;  thus, 

Very  truly  yours, 

Amelia  J.  Clark 
(Mrs.  John  K.  Clark). 

Business  letters  should  be  as  brief  as  possible,  con- 
sistently with  clearness.  A  fault  in  the  letter  of  Mr. 
Nickleby,  given  above,  is  that  he  does  not  state  what 
was  the  matter  with  the  clothing  of  which  he  com- 
plains. Mr.  Harrington  would  naturally  have  to 
write  a  letter  to  inquire  about  this,  and  so  time 
would  be  lost  because  of  the  faulty  brevity  in  the 
first  letter. 

Another  important  suggestion  to  the  writer  of 
business  letters  is,  that  in  replying  to  a  letter  one 
should  in  every  case  state  briefly  the  contents  of 
that  letter.  By  doing  this,  one  not  only  saves  the 
time  of  one's  correspondent,  but  prevents  misunder- 
standing. It  may  be  unnecessary  to  summarize  the 
entire  letter  before  beginning  the  reply  itself,  but  at 
least  the  important  points,  or  those  to  which  the 
reply  is  directed,  should  be  stated.  This  is  illus- 
trated in  the  following  letter :  — 


172  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

1879  West  206th  Street, 

CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS,  May  2,  1900. 
DEAR  MADAM  : 

In  reply  to  your  letter  of  April  29th,  in 
which  you  complain  that  the  articles  recently  purchased  by 
you  had  not  been  delivered  by  us,  and  that  your  letter  was  the 
second  you  had  written  to  us  on  the  subject,  we  beg  to  assure 
you  that  no  letter  from  you  of  earlier  date  than  April  29th 
has  been  received  by  us.  We  have  lost  no  time  in  seeking  to 
discover  the  error  of  which  you  apprise  us,  and  now  have 
pleasure  in  informing  you  that  we  have  succeeded  in  tracing 
and  recovering  the  missing  articles,  which  had  been  sent  to 
a  wrong  address.  They  will,  we  trust,  reach  you  to-morrow. 
With  apologies  for  the  much  regretted  delay, 

We  remain  truly  yours, 

TARQUE  AND  PILFORD, 

Miss  ISABEL  C.  HENRY,  per  J.  McK. 

25  Irving  Place,  Indianapolis. 

One  or  two  other  suggestions  regarding  business 
correspondence :  — 

While  a  business  letter  should  be  brief  and  to  the 
point,  it  is  a  matter  both  of  courtesy  and  of  good 
practice  not  to  use  clipped  forms  of  words  or  sen- 
tences. Avoid,  therefore,  abbreviations  such  as 
"  rec'd,"  "y'rs";  and  do  not  omit  the  subjects  of 
your  sentences,  as,  "  Have  written  to  Chicago  head- 
quarters." 

When  you  reply  to  a  letter,  state  the  date  of  that 
letter.  Some  business  firms  request  correspondents 
in  replying  to  "  refer  to  this  letter  as  B  210,"  or  the 
like.  The  point  is  to  make  it  perfectly  plain  to  what 


LETTER  WRITING  173 

letter  you  are  replying,  so  that  your  correspondent 
may  easily  find  it  in  his  files. 

It  is  advisable  in  addressing  a  large  office  or  estab- 
lishment with  several  departments,  to  write  a  dis- 
tinct letter  concerning  each  of  the  unrelated  matters 
of  your  correspondence,  so  that  each  letter  may  be 
received  and  filed  by  the  proper  department. 

Exercise  108.    Business  letters. 

Note.  —  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  in  business  letters 
that  they  be  properly  divided  into  paragraphs.  If  several 
topics  are  to  be  spoken  of,  they  should  be  kept  perfectly  dis- 
tinct. The  best  plan  is  to  note  down  the  topics  before  writing 
the  letter.  In  replying  to  a  letter  covering  two  or  more  points, 
the  distinctness  of  these  points  should  be  recognized  by  the 
paragraphing. 

1.  Write   a  letter   from   Oliver  Twist,  Pawtucket,  Rhode 
Island,  inclosing  $4  to  Harper  and  Brothers,  Franklin  Square, 
New  York,  for  his  subscription  for  one  year  to  Harper's  Weekly. 

2.  Write  a  letter  from  Henry  Esmond,  applying  for  a  posi- 
tion as   clerk   in  a  bank.      Age,  experience,  and  references 
should  be  given. 

3.  Write  a  letter  to  Edward  March,  publisher  of  the  Weekly 
Mirror,  17  West  31st  Street,  Brooklyn,  New  York,  asking  to 
have  the  address  of  your  paper  changed.     In  such  a  letter  you 
must  give  both  the  old  and  the  new  address. 

4.  Write  to  the  American  Book  Company,  ordering  fifty 
copies  of  this  book,  inclosing  a  money  order,  and  directing  how 
the  books  are  to  be  sent,  and  where. 

5.  Write  an  answer  for  the  American  Book  Company  to 
the  last  letter. 

6.  Write  to  a  gas  company,  inclosing  their  bill,  with  your 
check  for  the  amount,  and  complaining  that  the  gas  is  of  poor 
quality. 


174  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

7.  Mrs.  Rebecca  S.  Crawley,  wife  of  Eawdon  Crawley,  of 
10  Poppenham  Terrace,  is  asked  by  a  former  servant  to  write 
a  letter  of  recommendation.     Write  the  letter. 

8.  Write  a  letter  to  your  teacher,  asking  for  a  letter  of 
recommendation,  as  you  are  obliged  to  leave  school,  and  have  a 
chance  of  employment  in  a  situation  for  which  you  believe  you 
are  fitted. 

9.  Write  a  letter  to  John  Havemeyer  and  Co.,  calling  their 
attention  to  three  errors  in  a  bill  recently  sent  you  for  various 
purchases,  and  asking  them   to  correct   these  errors  on  the 
bill. 

10.  Write  a  letter  to  the  school  committee,  or  board  of 
education,  asking  that  no  school  be  held  on  the  Friday  after 
Thanksgiving,  and  stating  three  reasons  why  the  petition 
should  be  granted.  This  letter  should  be  signed  by  several 
persons. 

Exercise  109.  Letters  from  outlines. —  Where,  in  the 
following  letters,  the  matter  is  descriptive,  take  care  to 
introduce  your  own  feelings  and  sense-impressions ;  where 
the  matter  is  narrative,  endeavor  to  make  it  interesting 
by  reason  of  the  characters  or  situations  of  the  persons, 
and  the  nature  of  the  places  and  incidents.  Attend  care- 
fully to  the  paragraphing. 

1.  (From  a  boy  on  a  visit  in  a  strange  city.   To  his  parents.) 
Arrived  two  days  ago  —  the  trip  —  arrival  —  meeting  at  the 

station  —  the  host's  home  —  went  to  theater  the  first  evening 

—  opinion  of  the  play  —  the  doings  of  the  next  day  —  places 
visited  —  plans  —  impressions  of  the  city. 

2.  (From  a  girl  to  her  school  friend.    During  summer  vaca- 
tion.) 

Time  of  leaving  home  —  the  journey  —  description  of  sum- 
mering place  —  occupations  —  places  of  interest  —  persons  met 

—  plan  for  the  remainder  of  summer. 

3.  (From  a  boy  who  has  just  entered  into  business  life.     To 
his  uncle.) 


LETTER   WRITING  175 

How  he  got  his  position  —  nature  of  his  duties  —  difficulties 

—  how  he  is  treated  —  life  outside  of  working  hours  —  remem- 
brances to  uncle  and  family. 

4.  (A   letter   to  a  friend   who   is   absent   for    a    year   in 
Europe.) 

Kind  of  time  you  suppose  your  friend  is  having  —  how 
things  are  going  on  at  home  —  school  —  incidents  —  news  about 
friends  —  questions  concerning  Europe  —  hope  for  a  prompt 
and  a  long  reply. 

5.  (A  letter  describing  a  visit  to  Concord,  Mass.) 

By  train  from  Boston  —  memories  of  the  march  of  the 
British  in  1775  —  the  quietness  of  Concord  —  its  frame  houses 
and  big  elm  trees  —  Emerson's  home,  outside  and  inside  — 
The  Wayside,  once  dwelt  in  by  Hawthorne  —  his  tower  —  his 
walk  on  the  piny  hillside — the  little  schoolhouse  of  Bronson 
Alcott  —  the  home  of  Thoreau — The  Old  Manse  —  the  Concord 
River,  the  bridge,  the  statue  commemorating  the  battle  — 
the  cemetery  where  the  famous  men  lie  buried  —  reflections 
about  the  history  of  this  little  village. 

6.  (From  a  boy,  describing  to  a  friend  a  recent  game  of  base- 
ball.) 

The  weather  —  the  two  teams  —  prominent  members  — the 
beginning  —  description  of  two  or  three  exciting  times  in  the 
game  —  the  result. 

7.  (Letter  describing  your  seeing  and  hearing  some  famous 
man.) 

How  it  came  about  —  the  crowd  present  —  your  first  im- 
pression —  what  he  said  — his  manner  —  why  he  became  famous, 
as  you  suppose. 

8.  (Letter  in  reply  to  a  friend  who  prefers  living  in  the 
country.) 

Admit  the  advantages  of  the  country,  especially  in  summer 

—  name  them  —  point  out  the  advantages  of  the  city  over  the 
country, 

9.  (Letter  from  a  man  of  thirty  to  a  man  he  has  not  heard 
from  for  fifteen  years.) 


176  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

At  school  together  —  those  old  days  —  leaving  that  school 
—  further  education  —  family  events  —  first  position  —  subse- 
quent positions  —  travels  —  married  ?  —  prospects  —  inquiries 
about  his  friend. 

10.  (Letter  describing  winter,  to  a  child  who  lives  in  south- 
ern California.) 

The  winds  —  the  temperature  —  the  frozen  ground  —  the 
ice  —  skating  —  snow  —  sledding  —  other  sports  —  effect  of 
winter  upon  health  and  strength  —  what  you  suppose  life  is 
like  in  a  climate  where  there  is  no  winter. 

Exercise  no.  Kinds  of  composition. —  What  kinds  of 
composition  are  called  for  in  the  letters  of  the  last  exer- 
cise ? 

Exercise  in.  Outlining.  —  Outline  in  full  one  of  the 
letters  in  Exercise  109,  with  topics  and  subtopics 
properly  arranged.  If  necessary,  correct  the  para- 
graphing in  your  letter  by  the  aid  of  the  outline.  Note 
whether  your  own  letters  and  those  of  your  classmates 
possess  completeness,  unity,  and  plan. 

Exercise  112.  Sentence-criticism. — Read  over  care- 
fully one  or  more  (as  the  teacher  may  direct)  of  the  letters 
written  by  your  classmates.  Suggest  in  the  margin  cor- 
rections in  spelling,  punctuation,  and  paragraphing; 
mark  with  "  U  "  sentences  which  you  think  lack  unity  or 
contain  misuse  of  "and" ;  with  " Cl"  sentences  lacking 
clearness,  by  reason  of  faulty  use  of  pronouns  or  misplac- 
ing of  modifiers;  and  with  " F"  sentences  which  you 
think  might  be  made  more  emphatic  by  a  rearrange- 
ment or  by  other  change  in  expression. 


CHAPTER  XII 

FIGURES    OF    SPEECH 

ALONG  with  the  means  of  emphasis  already  treated 
of  in  Chapter  X,  we  should  consider  one  more,  which 
is  very  important,  the  use  of  what  are  called  figures 
of  speech.  There  are  certain  forms  of  expression 
which  may  give  not  only  emphasis,  but  also  clearness 
and  beauty  to  what  we  say.  Some  figures,  in  fact, 
are  used  merely  for  the  sake  of  their  beauty;  but 
usually  they  also  add  force  to  the  expression  of  the 
idea.  We  shall  consider  only  a  few  of  the  commoner 
and  more  useful  figures  here.  A  full  treatment  of 
the  subject  belongs  only  to  an  advanced  work  on 
rhetoric. 

I.  Simile.  —  If  we  wish  to  say  that  the  Assyrian 
enemy  came  down  upon  the  city  secretly  and  fiercely, 
we  may  express  both  these  ideas  with  vividness  and 
therefore  with  emphasis  by  using  such  a  comparison 
as  this :  — 

The  Assyrian  came  down  like  a  wolf  on  the  fold. — •  Byron 

In  this  too  the  swiftness,  devouringness  of  the  wolflike 
Assyrians,  give  you,  on  the  other  hand,  the  panic, 
rout,  unresistingness  of  the  sheep. 

A  comparison  of  this  sort  is  called  a  simile.  It  is 
always  plainly  marked  as  a  comparison  by  the  use  of 

WRIT.    IN   ENG.  —  12  177 


178  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

such  words  as  like,  as,  than,  resembles,  etc.  A  simile 
is  not  a  comparison  of  things  of  the  same  sort,  as  one 
man  with  another.  Thus,  the  sentence,  "  Napoleon 
was  a  greater  general  than  Caesar/'  is  a  mere  com- 
parison, not  a  simile ;  or  to  say,  "  This  flower  looks 
like  a  rose,"  is  not  to  use  a  simile.  A  simile,  then, 
is  an  expressed  comparison  between  objects  of  different 
kinds.  The  reason  why  a  simile  adds  clearness  and 
vividness  to  our  writing  is  that  it  brings  up  some- 
thing common,  familiar,  or  concrete  to  explain  that 
which  we  wish  our  readers  to  see  or  feel.  By  the 
use  of  a  simile  we  thus  tell  or  hint  to  our  readers 
that  what  we  are  writing  about,  which  perhaps  they 
have  not  seen  or  may  not  imagine  vividly,  is  like 
something  they  have  seen,  or  know  about,  or  can 
picture. 

A  simile  fully  stated  forms  what  is  called  a  pro- 
portion —  A  :  B  :  :  C  :  D.  Thus,  - 

Their  ranks  were  breaking  like  thin  clouds  before  a  Biscay 
gale, 

could  be  stated  more  fully,  — 

As  thin  clouds  break  before  a  gale,  so  their  ranks  broke  before 
the  onset  of  the  enemy. 

Note  that,  while  a  simile  is  a  comparison  between 
unlike  objects,  yet  there  must  of  course  be  one  or 
more  points  of  likeness,  and  these  are  precisely  what 
the  simile  brings  out  and  emphasizes.  Thus,  in  the 
last  simile  quoted,  in  what  respect  were  the  ranks  of 
the  defeated  army  like  clouds  ?  Of  course  not  in  color 


FIGURES   OF  SPEECH  179 

or  texture  or  weight,  or,  in  fact,  in  any  respect  except 
that  of  helplessly  breaking  and  yielding  to  a  force. 
A  simile  such  as  this  adds  not  only  emphasis  but 
clearness  and  beauty  to  the  statement. 

Exercise  113.  Simile.  —  Examine  the  following  simi- 
les, then  (a)  tell  wherein  the  resemblance  lies ;  (#)  state 
the  simile  in  full,  as  a  proportion. 

1.  Fret  not  thyself  because  of  evil  doers,  for  they  shall  be 
cut  down  like  the  grass,  and  wither  as  the  green  herb.  —  Bible. 
2.  It  seems  to  me  those  verses  shine  like  the  stars.  —  Thack- 
eray. 3.  Troubled  thoughts  filled  his  mind  as  if  with  a  fog.  — 
Balzac.  4.  He  was  carried  about  from  place  to  place  like  a  bale 
of  goods;  he  never  moved,  and  he  said  nothing.  5.  Mean- 
while in  the  old  State  House,  dim  as  ghosts,  sat  the  lawgivers 
of  Connecticut.  —  Whittier.  6.  If  reasons  were  as  plentiful 
as  blackberries,  I  would  give  no  man  a  reason  on  compulsion. 
—  Shakspere's  Henry  IV.  7.  Stones  and  beams  are  hailed 
down  on  the  brave  champion ;  he  regards  them  no  more  than 
if  they  were  thistle  down  and  feathers.  —  Scott.  8.  Every 
phrase  was  a  calamity  like  the  blows  of  a  bludgeon.  —  Balzac. 
9.  The  first  time  I  read  an  excellent  book,  it  is  to  me  just  as 
if  I  had  gained  a  new  friend.  —  Goldsmith.  10.  He  received 
my  arguments  with  his  mouth  open,  like  a  poorbox,  gaping  for 
half-pence,  and,  good  or  bad,  he  swallowed  them  all  without 
any  resistance.  —  Colman.  11.  High  o'er  the  heads  of  the 
others  rose,  with  his  arms  uplifted,  the  figure  of  Basil  the 
blacksmith,  as,  on  a  stormy  sea,  a  spar  is  tossed  by  the  billows. 
-  Longfellow.  12.  0  Cassius,  thou  art  yoked  with  a  lamb,  that 
carries  anger  as  the  flint  bears  fire,  who,  much  enforced,  shows 
a  hasty  spark,  and  straight  is  cold  again.  —  Shakspere's  Julius 
Ccesar.  13.  This  juggler  would  catch  four  balls  in  succession, 
in  less  than  a  second  of  time,  and  make  them  revolve  around 
him  at  certain  intervals,  like  the  planets  in  their  spheres; 
would  make  them  chase  one  another  like  sparkles  of  fire,  or 


180  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

shoot  up  like  flowers  or  meteors ;  would  throw  them  behind 
his  back,  and  twine  them  round  his  neck  like  ribbons,  or  like 
serpents.  —  Hazlitt. 

A  simile  should  always  be  chosen  and  expressed 
with  good  judgment.  An  inappropriate  simile  is 
worse  than  none.  If  you  are  describing  a  person 
whom  you  do  not  wish  to  make  ridiculous,  it  would 
not  be  well  to  say  that  in  dodging  the  attacks  of 
enemies  he  jumped  about  like  a  monkey.  This  might 
be  perfectly  true,  but  the  comparison  would  be  ill 
chosen.  You  should  also  have  some  regard  to  size 
and  form,  as  well  as  to  fittingness  of  suggestion. 
You  might  well  enough  say,  "  The  farmer's  cheeks 
were  as  ruddy  as  rosy -cheeked  apples,"  but  hardly 
would  it  do  to  say,  "  His  cheeks  were  as  ruddy  as 
his  barn,  newly  painted  red." 

If  you  wish  to  make  your  similes  pleasing,  do  not 
make  them  too  short  and  simple,  or  too  common- 
place. Such  expressions  as  "  black  as  coal,"  "  red  as 
fire,"  are  worn  out.  Longfellow  does  not  say  merely, 
"  Her  eyes  were  black  as  berries,"  but  he  makes  the 
comparison  particular  and  beautiful,  "  Black  were 
her  eyes  as  the  berry  that  grows  on  the  thorn  by  the 
wayside."  The  more  fullness  and  definiteness  the 
better.  To  say  "  He  fled  before  his  enemies  as  a  leaf 
before  the  wind,"  is  not  so  good  as  to  say  "  He  fled 
swiftly,  blown  by  the  blast  of  fate,  like  a  dead  leaf 
over  a  frozen  meadow." 

The  way  to  make  a  fine  simile  is  not  by  thinking 
of  words,  but  by  fixing  your  mind  upon  the  object, 


FIGURES   OF   SPEECH  181 

event,  or  person  to  be  described,  or  the  characteristic 
to  be  illustrated.  Ask  yourself,  What  is  this  like  ? 
and  let  the  images  come. 

Exercise  114.     Simile.  —  Work  out  appropriate  similes 
as  suggested. 

1.  The  gates  once  being  open,  our  men  poured  into  the 
town  like  .  .  . 

2.  Life  bears  us  on  like  .  .  . 

3.  Books  are  to  the  mind  what  .  .  . 

4.  At  this  period  of  his  life  he  enjoyed  a  prosperity  that 
was  as  ... 

5.  Smoothly  out  of  the  harbor,  with  all  sails  set,  the  ship 
came  .  .  . 

6.  War  passed  over  the  land  like  .  .  .    leaving  devastation 
behind  it. 

7.  As  he  said  this,  the  man's  eyes  .  .  . 

8.  Wit,  sudden  gleams ;  kindly  humor,  steady  glow  of  light. 

9.  I  saw  the  moon's  bright  reflection  in  the  waters  under 
me,  like  .  .  . 

10.  Eloquence  comes,  if  it  comes  at  all,  like  the  .  .  . 

11.  Metaphor.  —  If,  instead  of  saying, "  She  waited, 
like  an  ill-tempered  cat,  to  give  him  with  her  sharp 
words  a  parting  scratch  as  he  went  out,"  we  leave 
out  the  words  that   express    the  comparison  of  the 
person  to  a  cat,  and  say,  "  She  waited  to  give  him 
with  her  sharp  words  a  parting  scratch  as  he  went 
out,"  we  save  time    and  gain    emphasis   by  merely 
suggesting  the   person's  likeness  to  a  cat.      In  like 
manner,  the  simile,  "  Thy  words  are  as  a  lamp  to  my 
feet,"    may   be    shortened   and   at    the    same    time 
strengthened   by   omitting   "  as."      Of   course   it   is 


182  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

absurd  to  speak  of  words  as  actually  scratching  a 
person,  or  of  words  as  actually  being  a  lamp.  When 
we  read  such  an  expression  we  understand  that  the 
writer  means  to  suggest  a  comparison.  The  differ- 
ence between  a  simile  and  this  second  kind  of  figure, 
called  metaphor,  is  that  the  latter  is  an  implied  or 
suggested  comparison. 

Exercise  115.  Metaphor.  —  Examine  each  of  the  follow- 
ing metaphors,  then  (a)  tell  wherein  the  resemblance 
lies ;  (&)  state  the  comparison  in  full,  as  a  proportion. 

1.  "  Twenty-five  thousand  francs  !  "  cried  Cesar,  feeling  ice 
in  his  veins  instead  of  blood.  —  Balzac.  2.  He  was  now  in  the 
turbulent  and  seething  city,  which  a  modern  poet  has  called  a 
vat.  3.  Open  that  rusty  door  of  your  mouth,  and  make  your 
ugly  voice  walk  out  of  it.  —  Colman.  4.  The  earth  is  the  cup, 
the  sky  is  the  cover,  of  the  immense  bounty  of  nature.  — 
Emerson.  5.  Misfortune  is  a  stepping-stone  for  genius,  a 
treasure  for  the  skillful  man,  an  abyss  for  the  feeble.  —  Balzac. 
6.  Dryden's  page  is  a  natural  field,  rising  into  inequalities 
and  diversified  by  varied  vegetation ;  Pope's  is  the  velvet 
lawn,  shaven  by  the  scythe,  and  leveled  by  the  roller.  — 
Johnson.  7.  I  have  but  one  lamp  by  which  my  feet  are 
guided,  and  that  is  the  lamp  of  experience.  —  P.  Henry. 
8.  Poverty  froze  the  genial  current  of  his  soul.  9.  Say  that 
Wolsey,  who  sounded  all  the  depths  and  shoals  of  honor, 
found  thee  a  way,  out  of  his  wreck,  to  rise  in.  10.  His 
conversation  was  uninteresting ;  it  was  weak  water  gruel 
—  a  tame  rabbit,  boiled  to  rags,  without  sauce  or  salt.  — 
Colman. 

Exercise  116.  Metaphors  to  similes. — By  introducing 
"like,"  "as,"  or  other  words  expressing  comparison, 
change  the  metaphors  quoted  in  Exercise  115  into 
similes.  Note  the  loss  in  brevity  and  force. 


FIGURES  OF  SPEECH  183 

Exercise  117.  Similes  to  metaphors.  — By  omitting  all 
expression  of  the  comparisons,  change  the  similes  in 
Exercise  113  to  metaphors.  Note  the  greater  conden- 
sation, but  also,  in  some  cases,  a  loss  in  clearness. 

Simile  and  metaphor  are  the  two  chief  figures  that 
one  should  try  to  learn  to  use.  It  is  not  well  to 
employ  many  figures  in  one's  writing,  at  least  not 
until  one  is  wise  enough  to  exercise  good  judgment 
as  to  the  number  and  character  of  them  ;  though  of 
course  it  is  good  that  a  writer  use  any  kind  of  figure 
that  comes  naturally  to  him  and  helps  him  to  express 
his  idea  or  his  feeling.  It  is,  moreover,  important  to 
be  able  to  recognize  several  other  figures  of  speech 
besides  simile  and  metaphor,  so  that  we  may  enjoy 
them  when  we  meet  them  in  reading.  Some  of  the 
additional  figures  which  it  is  well  to  understand  are 
now  to  be  briefly  explained  and  illustrated. 

III.  Personification.  —  Sometimes  we  speak  of 
things  not  living  as  though  they  were  alive.  This 
may  be  either  because  they  at  the  time  seem  alive,  or 
because  we  can  make  the  idea  of  them  emphatic  by 
ascribing  life  to  them.  Thus,  the  idea  of  Rome  is 
made  more  stately  and  beautiful  by  using  this  figure 
of  personification :  — 

"This  is  Rome,  that  sat  on  her  seven  hills,  and 
from  her  throne  of  beauty  ruled  the  world."  — 
Mitford. 

Personification  may  merely  give  feeling  to  inani- 
mate things  or  vegetable  life,  as,  u  The  mountain 
shuddered,"  "  The  branches  moaned  in  the  wind  " ;  or 


184  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

it  may  give  to  inanimate  things  or  to  plants  or  to 
lower  animals  human  qualities,  as,  "  Then  would  the 
very  stones  of  the  street  rise  and  mutiny."  Animals 
may  shudder  or  moan,  but  only  men  can  mutiny. 
Personification,  then,  ascribes  to  its  object' qualities 
of  something  higher  than  itself  in  the  scale  of  being. 

Exercise  118.  Personification.  —  Examine  the  follow- 
ing sentences  for  examples  of  personification,  state  why 
the  figure  is  personification,  and  give  a  reason  for  the 
writer's  having  used  this  figure. 

1.  Then,  too,  the  old  year  dieth,  and  the  forests  utter 
a  moan.  —  Longfellow.  2.  Hope  for  a  season  bade  the 
earth  farewell,  and  Freedom  shrieked  when  Kosciusko  fell. 
3.  Let  the  dead  past  bury  its  dead.  4.  Soon  as  the  evening 
shades  prevail,  the  moon  takes  up  the  wondrous  tale,  and 
nightly  to  the  listening  earth  repeats  the  story  of  her  birth.  — 
Addison.  5.  Hear  me,  ye  walls,  that  echoed  to  the  tread  of 
either  Brutus,  once  again  I  swear  the  eternal  city  shall  be  free. 
—  Mitford. 

IT.  Metonymy  and  synecdoche.  —  Personification, 
like  metaphor  and  simile,  may  be  said  to  depend  on 
a  resemblance,  real  or  imaginary.  In  fact,  all  per- 
sonifications are  really  metaphors.  But  if  we  say, 
"This  dish  is  well  cooked,"  we  mean,  the  food  in  the 
dish  is  well  cooked.  There  is  no  resemblance  between 
the  dish  and  the  food,  but  there  is  so  usual  a  con- 
nection between  them  that  we  may  speak  of  the  dish 
when  we  really  mean  what  is  in  the  dish.  A 
metonymy  is  the  using  of  one  word  in  place  of  another, 
when  the  two  ideas  are  closely  and  commonly  con- 


FIGURES  OF  SPEECH  185 

nected.  When  the  connection  between  the  two  ideas 
is  that  of  part  and  whole,  the  figure  is  called  synecdo- 
che ;  for  example,  "  He  employs  twelve  hands  in 
his  factory." 

Exercise  119.  Metonymy  and  synecdoche.  —  Point  out 
the  instances  of  metonymy  and  of  synecdoche  in  the  fol- 
lowing sentences,  and  tell  what  the  words  used  in  the 
figures  are  really  substituted  for,  and  what  the  connec- 
tions are  between  the  ideas. 

1.  No  sheltering  roof  was  nigh.  2.  He  wielded  the  scepter 
for  fully  twenty  years.  3.  Do  you  read  Shakspere?  4.  He 
is  the  worst  oar  in  the  crew.  5.  She  was  by  now  a  maiden  of 
sixteen  summers.  6.  The  hedges  are  white  with  May.  7.  All 
the  world  looked  on  indifferently.  8.  A  fleet  of  twenty  sail 
came  out  of  the  west.  9.  He  is  a  slave  to  his  pipe.  10.  I 
have  always  voted  for  the  administration. 

V.  Allegory.  —  An  allegory  is  a  series  of  metaphors, 
or  an  extended  comparison,  forming  a  narrative.     Ex- 
amples of  allegory,  parable,  and  fable,  are  the  follow- 
ing :  "  I  am  the  vine  and  ye  are  the  branches,"  etc. 
(St.  John,  Chapter  xv),  The  parable  of  the  prodigal 
son  (St.  Luke  xv.   11-32),   Bunyan's  The  Pilgrim's 
Progress,  JEsop's  Fables. 

VI.  Alliteration  is  the  use  of  two  or  more  promi- 
nent words  near  together,  beginning  with  the  same 
sound.     This  is   frequent  in  poetry,  but   should   be 
used  very  sparingly  in  prose.     Examples  :  "  And  the 
sails  did  sigh  like  sedge,"  "  Some  days  must  be  dark 
and  dreary,"  "  Up  the  high  hill  he  heaves  a  huge 
round  stone." 


186  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

VII.  Onomatopoeia  is  the  use  of  words  whose  sound 
suggests  or  imitates  the  meaning.  Words  like  buzz, 
hum,  rustle,  splash,  flop,  dinging,  twang,  clatter,  and 
the  like,  are  onomatopoetic.  Onomatopoeia  is  fre- 
quently found  in  connection  with  alliteration. 

Exercise  120.  Criticism.  —  Examine  carefully  such  of 
your  own  or  of  your  classmates'  written  paragraphs  or 
longer  compositions  as  the  teacher  may  direct ;  mark  in 
the  margin  with  " F"  sentences  which  you  believe  could 
be  made  more  emphatic  by  rearrangement  or  by  change 
of  wording ;  and  write  out  on  a  slip  of  paper  the  im- 
proved forms  which  you  think  these  sentences  ought  to 
have. 

Exercise  121.  Figures  of  speech. — Look  over  two  of 
your  own  exercises  in  paragraph-writing  or  in  longer 
composition,  and  insert  in  each,  in  red  ink,  between  the 
lines,  one  or  two  appropriate  and  helpful  similes  or 
metaphors. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

CHOICE    OF   WORDS 

MOST  of  our  sentence  work  up  to  this  point  has 
bad  to  do  with  the  form  of  the  sentence  as  a  whole, 
or  with  the  form  or  arrangement  of  the  elements  of 
the  sentence.  (See  the  Table  of  Contents.)  It  is  true 
that  in  some  cases  we  have  considered  the  use  of  cer- 
tain words,  namely,  conjunctives,  especially  and,  and 
the  relative  pronoun  which.  But  in  English  the 
choice  of  what  words  we  shall  use  is  a  large  subject, 
to  which  whole  books  have  been  given.  For  the 
sake  of  learning  to  write  more  effectively,  we  must 
now  study  the  subject  a  little  further. 

Some  words  and  constructions  ought  never  to  be 
used.  It  may  be  that  the  words  themselves  are  not 
good  English,  or  that  they  are  used  in  a  wrong  sense, 
or  that  they  are  put  together  ungrammatically. 

L    Correctness  in  diction  and  syntax. 

a.  The  words  we  speak  or  write  should  be  in  good 
use.  This  means  that  we  must  avoid :  - 

(1)  All  slang  and  vulgar  expressions,  such  as  ain't, 
gent,  pants,  photo,  party  (for  person),  well  posted 
(for  "  well  informed  "),  put  it  through,  gave  himself 
away,  got  left. 

187 


188  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

(2)  All  local  or  provincial  uses  of  words,  such  as 
tote,  onto,  reckon  (for  "think"),  be  you  (for  "are 
you"),  complected,  like  (for  "as,"  as  in  the  sentences, 
"  Do  like  I  do/'  "  She  spoke  just  like  my  mother  used 
to  speak  "  ;  remember  that  when  the  noun  or  pronoun 
following  like  is  the  subject  of  a  verb,  you  should  use 
as  instead  of  like). 

(3)  All  obsolete  or  disused  words,  such  as,  verily, 
methinks. 

(4)  All  too  recent  or  as  yet  unaccepted  words,  as 
burglarize,  motorneer,  electrocute,  suicided  (verb). 

(5)  All  words  belonging  only  to  poetry,  as  ere, 
e'er,  o'er,  ne'er. 

b.  We  must  not  give  to  words  distinctly  wrong 
meanings.  To  illustrate :  a  place  may  be  healthful, 
a  certain  food  may  be  wholesome,  but  neither  a  place 
nor  a  food  can  be  healthy,  because  it  is  not  alive. 

Exercise  122.     Precision  in  use  of  words.  —  If  you  are 

in  any  doubt  as  to  the  precise  meaning  of  any  of  the  fol- 
lowing words,  look  them  up  in  a  good  dictionary.  The 
words  in  these  groups  are  often  used  incorrectly  one  for 
another.  Whether  you  need  to  look  them  up  or  not,  write 
sentences  containing  these  words  used  correctly. 

1.  Accept,  except  (verb).  2.  Balance,  remainder.  3.  Ke- 
spectively,  respectfully.  4.  Invention,  discovery.  5.  Observa- 
tion, observance.  6.  Affect,  effect.  7.  Aggravate,  irritate. 
8.  Demean,  degrade.  9.  Guess,  think.  10.  Lie,  lay.  11.  Sit, 
set.  12.  May,  can.  13.  Liable,  likely.  14.  In,  into.  15.  Most, 
mostly,  almost.  16.  Like,  as.  17.  Quantity,  number,  amount. 
18.  Expect,  suspect,  suppose.  19.  Quite,  rather,  somewhat. 
20.  Propose,  purpose  (verb).  21.  Are  finished,  have  finished. 


CHOICE  OF  WORDS  189 

22.  To  find,  to  found.  23.  I  shall,  I  will,  he  shall,  he  will, 
shall  you  ?  will  you  ?  will  he  ?  shall  he  ?  shall  I  ?  will  I  ? 
(see  the  following  note).  24.  Which,  that,  who,  whom  (see 
the  note  below,  on  relative  pronouns). 

Note  on  "shall"  and  "will" — In  declarative  sen- 
tences, with  the  first  person  will  expresses  intention 
or  determination ;  shall  expresses  merely  the  future 
tense.  With  the  second  and  third  persons  will  ex- 
presses merely  the  future  tense,  while  shall  ex- 
presses intention  or  determination  on  the  part  of 
the  speaker. 

In  questions,  the  above  uses  are  changed,  because 
of  the  answers  expected.  The  word  of  the  question 
is  the  word  of  the  expected  answer.  Thus,  shall 
you?  (answer  expected,  I  shall,  or  I  shall  not)  has 
merely  the  future  idea  ;  will  you  ?  asks  for  deter- 
mined assent,  the  desired  answer  being,  I  will.  Will 
he?  is  merely  future,  asks  for  information.  Shall 
he  f  means  "  Do  you  insist  or  intend  that  he  shall  ?  " 
Will  If  is  usually  ironical.  Asked  seriously,  it  is 
absurd.  Shall  I?  expresses  an  offer,  or  else  a  mere 
question  in  the  future  tense. 

The  use  of  should  and  would  is  generally  governed 
by  the  same  rules  as  those  for  shall  and  will. 

Note  on  relative  pronouns.  —  Compare  "Young  birds 
that  cannot  fly  are  frequently  starved  to  death  "  and 
"  Young  birds,  which  cannot  fly,  are  frequently 
starved  to  death."  In  the  former  sentence  the  rela- 
tive clause  "that  cannot  fly"  limits  the  antecedent 
"young  birds."  That  sentence  does  not  say  that  all 


190  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

young  birds  are  frequently  starved  to  death,  but 
speaks  only  of  those  young  birds  that  cannot  fly. 
But  the  second  sentence  says  that  young  birds  are 
frequently  starved  to  death,  and  adds  the  information 
that  young  birds  cannot  fly.  Here  the  relative 
clause,  since  it  introduces  a  new  fact  about  the  ante- 
cedent, is  said  to  be  coordinative,  and  may  be  re- 
garded as  parenthetical.  The  correct  punctuation 
also  indicates  this. 

As  a  rule  the  pronoun  that  is  used  to  limit  or  restrict 
the  antecedent ;  for  example,  in  the  case  given,  we  are 
not  speaking  of  the  antecedent  in  general  (young 
birds),  but  of  a  particular  class  of  the  antecedent. 
To  test  whether  a  relative  is  used  restrictively  or 
coordinatively  in  a  sentence,  see  whether  such  words 
as  the,  that,  those,  that  class  of,  those  particular,  can 
be  or  are  used  before  the  antecedent ;  if  so,  the  rela- 
tive is  restrictive.  Another  test  is  to  see  whether 
the  relative  clause  is  equivalent  to  and  he,  and  it,  and 
they,  etc.,  or  for  he,  for  it,  etc.,  or  to  some  other  clause 
which  adds  a  new  statement  about  the  antecedent. 
In  such  cases  the  clause  is, coordinative.  To  express 
restriction  who,  whom  and  which  are  sometimes  used 
instead  of  that  when  it  sounds  better ;  as  when  that  has 
already  been  used  as  an  adjective  or  a  conjunction, 
or  when  the  use  of  that  would  throw  a  preposition  to 
the  end  of  the  sentence  with  an  unpl easing  effect. 

Exercise  123.    Use  of  relatives  who,  whom,  which,  that.— 

In  the  following  sentences  select  the  proper  relative  to 
insert  in  each  space.  State  whether  the  relative  clause 


CHOICE  OF  WORDS  191 

restricts  the  antecedent  or  merely  adds  information  about 
it.    Punctuate  the  sentences  properly. 

1.  He  is  the  very  man  .  .  .  threw  the  stone.  2.  We  should 
take  good  care  of  books  .  .  .  are  among  our  best  friends. 
3.  Grass  .  .  .  stays  green  later  in  the  year  than  most  vegeta- 
tion is  a  hardy  plant.  4.  Coal-oil  lamps  .  .  .  are  very  cheap 
are  now  found  in  many  houses.  5.  Good  shoes  .  .  .  are  made 
of  calfskin  are  commoner  now  than  ever  before.  6.  Squirrels 
.  .  .  build  nests  of  dry  leaves  and  twigs  store  up  nuts  for  win- 
ter food.  7.  He  says  that  that  is  a  statement  .  .  .  you  may 
believe  or  not  as  you  think  best.  8.  Alice  in  Wronderland  .  .  . 
is  called  a  children's  book  is  much  read  by  grown  people  too. 

9.  He  believed  that  the  stories  .  .  .  children  read  are  often 
the   cause   of  a  loss   of  time  ...  is  much  to   be   regretted. 

10.  That  is  the  Mr.  Phelps  .  .  .  you  wanted  to  be  introduced 
to.     He  is  a  man  ...  1  have  the  highest  regard  and  admiration 
for. 

Exercise  124.  Use  of  shall  and  will.  —  In  the  following 
sentences,  choose  from  the  words  given  in  parentheses, 
and  state  the  reason  for  your  choice.  If  either  might  be 
used,  state  the  difference  in  the  meanings. 

1.   I  (shall,  will)  see  him  at  once,  or  know  the  reason  why. 

2.  (Should,  would)  you  think  of  going  to  that  lecture  to-day  ? 

3.  I  (will,  shall)  go  up  to  the  house  at  once  and  see  what  is 
the   matter.     4.   He   (will,   shall)    do   as   I   say,   never   fear. 
5.    (Shall,  will)  you  not  remain  here  till  I  return  ?     6.   I  am 
determined  that  this  game  (will,  shall)  be  the  last  one  I  play 
to-day.     7.   I  am  now  at  Brampton,  where  I  (shall,  will)  re- 
main all  summer.     8.   The  count  came  riding  up,  crying,  "  I 
(will,  shall)  not  surrender,  except  to  death."     9.   You  (will, 
shall)   not   find   it  easy  to  hoodwink   that   lonely  old  man. 
10.   He  replied  scornfully,  "  (Shall,  will)  I  consent  to  such  a 
proposition?     Never  while  life  (will,  shall)  last!"     11.   You 
(shall,  will)  not  have  the  chance  to  do  that  again,  so  long  as  I 


192  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

(shall,  will)  be  here  to  prevent  you.  12.  He  asked  me  if  I 
(would,  should)  have  a  rehearsal  that  day  or  the  next.  13.  Yes, 
we  (would,  should)  linger  that  one  night  till  the  sunrise  itself 
(should,  would)  come  to  bid  us  seek  our  rest.  14.  We  (would, 
should)  often  remain  till  the  stars  came  out.  15.  You  (should, 
would)  not  say  so,  if  you  knew  him  better. 

c.  Correctness  in  syntax,  or  grammatical  construc- 
tion of  sentences,  includes  so  much  that  only  a  few 
important  points  will  be  considered  here,  and  those 
must  be  points  that  belong  especially  to  the  study  of 
composition. 

1.  Incorrect  use  of  "  and  which."  — Since  which  is  a 
relative  pronoun,  it  does  not  require  a  conjunction 
before  it,  as  relatives  are  also  connectives  (see  page  86). 
It  is  therefore  bad  grammar  to  use  and,  but,  or,  or 
other  conjunctions  before  which,  who,  or  that,  except 
to  connect  two  relative  clauses  having  the  same  ante- 
cedent. Coordinating  conjunctions  should  always 
connect  like  elements. 

EXAMPLES  : 

Incorrect  Corrected 

1.  He  was  a  man  of  great        1.    Omit   the    and    (comma 
firmness  and  who  never  could   after    "  firmness "),  or   recast : 
endure  opposition.  He  was  a  man  that  was  as  firm 

as  he  was  intolerant  of  opposi- 
tion. 

2.  This  is  a  time  not  meant        2.    This  is  a  time  which  we 
for  angry  disputes,  but  for  the  must  not  spend  in  angry  dis- 
right  use  of  which  we  shall  be  putes,  but  which  we  must  use 
held  accountable.  rightly  and  wisely.  * 


CHOICE  OF  WORDS  193 

3.  This  time  the   gateman  3.   This  time   the   gaternan 
was  a  man  named  Watty,  or  was   a  man  whose  name  was 
who   was   called  that   by   his  Watty,  or  who  was  at  any  rate 
companions.  called  that  by  his  companions ; 

or,  This  time  the  gateman  was 
a  man  named  Watty,  or  known 
by  that  nickname  among  his 
companions. 

4.  Going  down  the  steps  I        4.   Going  down  the  steps  I 
met  Robert  Longacre,  the  son  met  the  son  of   a  well-known 
of  a  well-known   writer,   and  writer.     It  was  Robert  Long- 
whom  I  had  never  been  intro-  acre,  a  young  man  to  whom  I 
duced  to.  had  never  been  introduced. 

5.  I   believed  he    had   the        5.   Though  he  carefully  con- 
strength  of  a  horse  or  an  ox,   cealed    the   fact   from    me,   I 
but   which   he    carefully   con-  believed  he  had  the  strength 
cealed  from  me.  of  a  horse  or  an  ox. 

6.  No  person  unable  to  read,        6.   No  person  who  is  unable 
or  who  does  not  understand  the  to  read,  or  who  does  not  un- 
Constitution,  may  vote  in  this   derstand  the  Constitution  may 
State.  vote  in  this  State. 

2.  Faults  relating  to  possess ives.  —  The  possessive 
case  should  be  used  before  a  gerund  (verbal  noun)  in 
cases  like  these :  "I  was  glad  of  your  being  able  to 
make  the  journey,  but  disappointed  at  your  sister's 
having  been  too  ill."  The  use  of  the  objective  case 
instead  of  the  possessive  in  such  sentences  is  incorrect. 
For  instance,  to  use  sister  in  the  sentence  given  would 
make  it  object  of  at,  which  would  be  absurd.  Care 
must  be  taken  also  to  write  the  possessive  case  cor- 
rectly, particularly  in  case  of  compound  expressions. 
(See  Appendix  III,  page  239 ;  and  Maxwell's  Ad- 
vanced Lessons  in  English  Grammar,  §§  201-208.) 

WRIT.    IN    ENG.  13 


194  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

Exercise  125.  Use  of  possessive  case.  —  Correct  the 
errors  in  the  following  sentences,  with  regard  to  the 
use,  and  the  proper  writing,  of  possessives. 

1.  I  did  not  like  him  saying  that  before  all  the  others. 
2.  My  father  thinks  that  Lyon's  and  Fourpaw's  circus  is  better 
than  this  coming  one.  3.  Is  that  Worcester  or  Webster's  dic- 
tionary ?  4.  We  are  much  obliged  for  Mr.  Beeman  having 
acted  so  promptly.  5.  I  have  read  several  of  Tennyson  and 
Longfellow's  poems  to-day.  6.  You  arriving  on  time  was 
what  saved  the  day.  7.  I  found  him  at  Howe's  and  Hub- 
bard's  law  office.  8.  As  for  your  mother  giving  her  consent, 
that  is  unlikely. 

3.  Pronoun  not   agreeing  with   antecedent.  —  The 
pronoun  they  (their,  them)  should  generally  not  be 
used  except  with  a  plural  antecedent.     If  the  ante- 
cedent is  singular  and  the  gender  unknown,  better  use 
requires  that  the  pronoun  he,  not  they,  should  be  used. 
Thus,  instead  of  saying,  "  If  any  one  in  the  room  has 
lost  a   handkerchief,   they   may    obtain  it  after  the 
meeting,"  we  should  say,  "he  may  obtain  it."     We 
must  also  observe  that  one,  each,  either,  etc.,  are  sin- 
gular, not  plural,  and  should  be  referred  to  by  he, 
not  they.     (See  examples  in  the  following  exercise.) 

4.  Pronouns  in  the  wrong  case-form. —  The  follow- 
ing are  common  errors  in  the  forms  of  pronouns :  — 

(a)  Wrong  case-form  in  questions,  as,  Who  did 
you  take  me  to  be  ?  Who  are  you  making  that  for  ? 

(&)  Wrong  case-form  after  prepositions  or  verbs, 
as,  Between  you  and  I,  this  is  not  easy  to  understand. 
He  believed  she  and  I  to  be  against  the  plan.  The 
animal  next  attacked  John  and  I. 


CHOICE  OF   WORDS  195 

(c)  Wrong  case-form  after  than  or  as,  as,  He  is 
three  years  older  than  me.  You  would  rather  talk 
with  my  brother  than  I. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  forms  of  the  verb  to  be, 
and  of  other  verbs  of  being  and  becoming,  take  the 
same  case  after  as  before.  The  subject  of  an  infinitive 
verb  is  put  in  the  objective  case.  Than  and  as  com- 
pare words  that  are  in  the  same  case,  whether  nomi- 
native or  objective. 

Exercise    126.       Ungrammatical    uses    of   pronouns. — 

Correct  the  following,  giving  reasons :  — 

1.  If  either  the  engineer  or  the  fireman  had  lost  their  head 
one  moment,  there  would  have  occurred  a  terrible  accident. 
2.  No  one  can  save  their  soul  by  good  resolutions.  3.  Whom 
did  you  think  I  was  ?  4.  Who  do  you  think  I  saw  ?  5.  Who 
do  you  suppose  him  to  be  ?  6.  Who  did  you  take  him  for  ? 
7.  Not  a  child  should  leave  this  room  without  putting  on  all 
the  wraps  they  have  brought.  8.  Has  any  of  you  people  lost 
their  knife?  9.  Mary  can  read  as  well  as  him.  10.  The 
teacher,  it  seems  to  me,  would  sooner  promote  her  than  I. 
11.  Who  can  we  tell  about  it  ?  12.  This  is  a  pretty  position 
for  you  and  I  to  be  in.  13.  Whom  do  you  say  was  elected? 
14.  The  thing  for  you  and  I  to  do,  friends,  is  to  change  all 
this  at  once.  15.  Who  did  you  say  he  told  to  go  ? 

5.  Verb  with  wrong  number  or  tense.  —  Perhaps  the 
commonest  example  of  disagreement  of  verb  with 
subject  in  everyday  speech  is  he  dont  (she  don't,  it 
don't)  for  he  doesnt.  Other  examples  of  false  agree- 
ment are  in  the  following  exercise.  With  regard  to 
tense-forms,  one  should  note  particularly  the  fault  of 
wrongly  inserting  have  when  the  sense  does  not 


196  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

require  it.  If  you  think  of  the  intended  meaning 
you  will  see,  for  example,  that  "  I  expected  to  have 
called  yesterday/'  should  be  "  I  expected  to  call  yes- 
terday." It  should  be  observed  also  that  a  state- 
ment true  for  all  time  is  put  in  the  present  tense 
even  when  the  principal  verb  is  in  a  past  tense; 
thus,  "  I  said  that  air  is  a  mixture  of  oxygen  and 
nitrogen." 

Exercise  127.  Verbs.  — Point  out  the  false  syntax  in 
the  following  sentences:  — 

1.  Each,  of  those  books,  as  Mr.  Williams  says,  contain  good 
reading.  2.  Neither  of  these  pencils  write  well.  3.  The 
building  with  all  its  contents  were  destroyed  by  fire.  4.  This 
is  not  a  color  like  scarlet  or  purple  which  tire  the  eyes. 

5.  Nothing  but  games  and  idle  pursuits  interest  him  any  more. 

6.  Either  this  box  or  that  one  are  worth  buying  at  such  a 
price.     7.  While  the  state  of  affairs  are  as  I  have  described, 
there  suddenly  appears  on  the  scene  a  robber  and  his  son,  a 
youth  of  eighteen.     8.  Why  is  the  smoking  of  cigars  and  the 
drinking  of  beer  allowed  in  this  place?     9.  Either  you  or  I 
are  to  stay,  while  Mary  and  you,  or  Mary  and  I,  am  to  go. 
10.  If  one  of  these  chances  are  again  presented,  which  happen 
none  too  often,  he  or  I  is  to  start  at  once.     11.  Our  joy  or  our 
sorrow  are  really  due  in  large  part  to  ourselves.     12.  Neither 
of  those  persons  seem  to  be  able  to  understand  me.     13.  How 
high  did  you  say  the  Washington  monument  was  ?     14.  What 
study  was  it  you  failed  in  ?     15.  The  minister  said  that  God 
was  no  respecter  of  persons.     16.  I  never  expected  to  have 
been  accused   of  insincerity.     17.  I   admit  that  I   failed  to 
have    proved    that    statement.      18.  Hopkins   had  hoped  to 
have  graduated  this  year.     19.  I  was  not  aware  that  this  was 
now  your  house.     20.  I  knew  he  wished  to  have  advised  me 
not  to  have  gone. 


CHOICE  OF  WORDS  197 

6.  Misplacing  of  adverbial  modifiers.  —  The  infini- 
tive verb  and  the  particle  "  to  "  should  not  be  sepa- 
rated by  an  adverbial  or  other  element.     The  placing 
of  adverbial  modifiers  with  respect  to  the  position  of 
the  verb  is  a  subject  requiring  some  attention.     (See 
Maxwell's  Advanced  Lessons  in  English   Grammar, 
article  597.)     It  should  be  particularly  noted  that, 
while  an  adverb  may  generally  precede  a  simple  verb, 
yet,   when  the   verb   is   in  a  compound   tense,  the 
adverb  usually  comes  after  the  first  auxiliary  if  the 
verb  is  in  the  active  voice,  and  next  to  the  principal 
verb  if  it  is  in  the  passive  voice. 

Exercise  128.  Misplaced  modifiers. —  Rewrite  the  fol- 
lowing sentences  so  as  to  avoid  misplacing  the  adverbials. 
In  correcting  these  sentences  care  jnust  be  taken  not  to 
put  an  unimportant  word  in  an  emphatic  position. 

1.  He  determined  to  immediately  ask  the  teacher's  pardon. 
2.  We  have  concluded  to  not  read  it  at  present.  3.  The 
weeks  in  his  course  of  study  were  so  arranged  as  to  each  in 
itself  take  up  a  certain  part  of  the  subject  and  complete  it. 
4.  It  is  my  wish  to  most  completely  repair  the  injury  I  have 
done  them.  5.  He  intended  to,  if  possible,  return  without 
being  seen.  6.  Agnes  could  hope  now  to  only  see  her 
mother  once  again.  7.  This  writing  is  too  bad  to  be  easily 
read.  8.  We  shall  have  then  been  here  ten  days.  9.  That  game 
easily  can  be  learned.  10.  I  have  very  rapidly  walked  home. 
11.  He  read  the  book  that  I  gave  him  with  great  care.  12.  He 
will  finish  probably  before  dinner. 

7.  Grammatical  incompleteness.  —  This  is  the  fault 
of  omitting  a  word  required  for  the  grammatical  con- 
struction of  a  sentence.      This   fault  nearly  always 


198  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

springs  from  carelessness,  but  it  is  very  common,  and 
the  danger  of  falling  into  it  should  be  understood. 

A  few  examples  are  given  in  the  (attempted)  sen- 
tences of  the  following  exercise,  which  were  actually 
written  by  school  children.  Other  sentences  illus- 
trating grammatical  incompleteness  are  to  be  found 
in  Chapter  VIII,  on  clearness,  page  113. 

Exercise    129.     Grammatical   incompleteness.  —  Correct 

the  following :  — 

I.  He  was  taking  a  step  the  consequences  of  which  he  was 
not   quite   sure.     2.  Taking,  for  example,  the  Greeks  at  the 
beginning  of  their  history  were  fond  of  hearing  and  repeating 
fables.     3.  He  made  it  a  practice  to  experiment  with  all  he 
came  into  contact.     4.  If  we  take,  for  instance,  a  child  coming 
late  to  school  is  made  to  stay  after  the  others  have  gone  home. 
5.  On  the  other  hand  if  we  could  learn  by  the  experience  of 
others  (as  by  reading  and  observing)  and  start  our  lives  with 
this  knowledge,  as  a  child  of  to-day  accepts  the  automobile,  the 
steam  engine,  and  the  telephone  without  inquiring  how  these 
came  to  be.     6.  You  now  pass  from  the  condition  you  are  in 
less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it.     7.  By  charity  I  understand 
that  not  to  give  money  always,  but  to  give  attention  and  sym- 
pathy when  we  find  a  chance. 

II.  Skillful  choice  in  diction. 

If  the  words  given  in  pairs  in  Exercise  122,  near 
the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  are  used  wrongly,  one 
for  the  other,  it  is  simply  a  blunder  due  to  ignorance. 
But  there  are  in  the  English  language  many  word- 
groups,  in  each  of  which  the  meanings  are  so  nearly 
the  same  that  in  many  cases  one  of  the  words  or 
expressions  would  be  quite  as  correct  as  another.  Is 


CHOICE  OF   WORDS  199 

there  any  difference,  for  example,  between  begin  and 
commence?  But  even  among  such  words  there  is 
usually,  for  each  particular  case,  a  best  word.  We 
must,  therefore,  try  to  learn  how  to  choose  words 
with  accuracy  and  good  judgment.  We  learn  to  do 
this  mainly  by  much  reading  of  well-written  books ; 
in  that  way  we  gradually  come  to  feel  how  certain 
words  or  kinds  of  words  ought  to  be  used.  The 
English  language,  containing  as  it  does  words  from 
many  other  tongues  (see  Appendix  II),  is  so  rich  in 
words,  that  one  might  be  learning  new  uses  or  even 
new  expressions  all  one's  life. 

Words  having  nearly  the  same  meaning  are  called 
synonyms.  In  reality,  as  has  been  said,  there  is  always 
a  choice  among  synonyms.  One  word  may  be  more 
agreeable  in  sound  than  any  of  its  synonyms  ;  or  more 
specific,  or  more  emphatic.  Sometimes  synonyms 
differ  in  the  degrees  or  intensities  of  the  idea  they 
express,  as,  grateful,  pleasing,  refreshing,  delightful, 
intoxicating.  It  is  in  choosing  among  such  words 
that  care  is  especially  needed.  There  are  persons 
to  whom  everything  they  like,  from  soda  water  to 
scenery,  is  "  lovely,"  or  "  elegant,"  or  "  so  nice"; 
and  to  whom  whatever  they  dislike  is  "  horrid  "  or 
'•perfectly  awful"  or  " fierce." 

The  usual  reason,  however,  for  distinctions  among 
synonyms,  is  that  the  words  have  come,  in  the 
course  of  time,  to  be  used  most  appropriately  in 
certain  connections.  Thus,  sincere,  honest,  genuine, 
real,  all  have  an  element  of  common  meaning, 


200  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

yet  each  has  its  own  proper  use.  Should  one 
say  genuine  sympathy,  or  sincere  sympathy  ;  honest 
indignation  or  real  indignation  ?  Or,  compare  the 
words  :  old,  aged,  ancient,  antiquated,  venerable.  Of 
these  old  has  the  widest  range  of  use,  but  it  implies 
a  less  amount  of  duration  than  ancient;  aged  is 
applied  mostly  to  living  beings ;  venerable  suggests 
the  admirable  qualities  of  age,  while  antiquated 
means  old  fashioned,  out  of  date,  obsolete,  of  less 
value  than  formerly. 

For  the  proper  study  of  words  each  pupil  should 
have  a  dictionary  and  a  book  containing  lists  of 
synonyms.  There  should  also  be  in  the  schoolroom 
an  unabridged  dictionary,  a  large  standard  book  on 
synonyms,  and  a  copy  of  Roget's  Thesaurus  of 
English  Words. 

Exercise  130.  Choice  of  words. — Select  adjectives  of 
praise  or  commendation  to  be  applied  fitly  to  the  fol- 
lowing nouns:  — 

Sunset,  book,  roast  of  beef,  opinion,  distinction,  sentence, 
soup,  apple,  lady,  essay,  preacher,  character,  disposition,  bou- 
quet, vase,  picnic,  journey,  hat,  bonnet,  party,  weather,  moun- 
tain, violin  playing. 

Exercise  131.  Use  of  synonyms. —  Concerning  the 
following  words  consult  a  dictionary,  or  a  good  book  of 
synonyms.  Select  from  each  group,  first,  the  word  that 
has  the  widest  use ;  then  write  a  sentence  containing  it, 
and  other  sentences  containing  the  other  words  of  the 
group,  so  as  to  show  the  accurate  use  of  each  word. 

1.  Gruff,  ill  natured,  sullen,  sour,  surly,  gloomy. 

2.  Glad,  happy,  jolly,  joyful,  pleased,  blessed. 


CHOICE  OF   WORDS  201 

3.  Warm,  hearty,  genial,  cordial,  ardent. 

4.  Close,  sultry,  stifling,  suffocating,  oppressive,  stuffy. 

5.  Plentiful,  abundant,  adequate,  sufficient,  generous,  lavish, 
ample. 

6.  Destroy,  abolish,  exterminate,  obliterate,  ruin,  wipe  out, 
annul. 

7.  Wrath,   anger,   rage,   resentment,  indignation,  exasper- 
ation. 

8.  Try,  attempt,  endeavor,  strive,  undertake,  essay. 

9.  Character,  reputation,  temper,  temperament,  disposition, 
constitution. 

10.  Charity,  compassion,  pity,  mercy,  kindness,  goodwill, 
benevolence,  benignity,  sympathy. 

Exercise  132.  Synonyms . — Make  lists  of  four  or  more 
synonyms  for  each  of  the  following  words,  and  be  ready 
to  use  eaeh  of  your  words  accurately  in  a  sentence: — 

1.  Brave.  2.  Convince.  3.  Clear.  4.  Injury.  5.  Diffi- 
cult. 6.  Sorrow.  7.  Gleam.  8.  Answer.  9.  Haughty. 
10.  Baffle. 

Exercise  133.  Choice  of  synonyms.  —  In  the  follow- 
ing passages  select  from  the  words  given  in  parentheses 
the  word  you  think  fittest  for  the  place.  In  doing  this 
consider  the  sound  of  the  word  as  well  as  its  accurate 
meaning. 

1.  In  a  (moment,  instant,  second)  all  was  again  (silenced, 
still,  hushed).  Dead  (noiselessness,  silence,  quiet,  stillness) 
succeeded  the  (roar,  bellow,  growl,  noise,  reverberation)  of  the 
thunder,  the  (howl,  roar,  rush,  noise)  of  the  waters,  the  (groan- 
ing, howling,  moaning,  outcry,  yelling)  of  the  beasts,  the  (twit- 
tering, chattering,  screaming,  outcry)  of  the  birds.  Nothing 
was  heard  save  the  (dash,  splash,  plash,  beating)  of  the  (agi- 
tated, troubled,  disturbed,  roughened)  lake,  as  it  beat  up 
against  the  black  rocks  which  girt  it  in. 


202  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

2.  Not  long  since,  a  gentleman  was  (journeying,  traveling) 
in  one  of  the  counties  of  Virginia,  and  about  the  close  of  the 
day  stopped  at  a  (hotel,  inn,  public  house)  to  (get,  have,  obtain, 
procure)    (supper,  an  evening   meal,   refreshment,  food)   and 
(spend,  pass)  the  night.     He  had  been  there  but  a  (little,  short, 
inconsiderable)  time,  before  an  (aged,  old,  ancient)  man  alighted 
from  his  gig,  with  the  (obvious,  evident,  apparent,  seeming) 
(purpose,  design,  intention)  of  becoming  his  fellow  guest  at 
the  same  house. 

3.  Urge  every   (person,  body,  one)   within  reach  of  your 
influence  to  be  always    (neat,  nice,  trim,  tidy,   spruce)   and 
(cleanly,  clean,  spotless),  and  give  (them,  him)  means  of  being 
so.     In  so  far  as  they  (entirely,  wholly,  absolutely,  positively) 
refuse,  you  must  (abandon,  leave  off,  give  up,  relinquish,  cease) 
the  effort,  with  (respect,  regard)  to  them,  only  (seeing,  looking 
out,  taking  care)  that  no  children  within  your  sphere  of  influ- 
ence shall  any  more  be  (reared,  raised,  brought  up)  with  such 
(customs,  habits) ;  and  that  every  person  who  (is  willing,  con- 
sents, agrees,  endeavors)  to  dress  with  (care,  propriety)  shall 
have  (assistance,  help,  encouragement)  to  do  so. 

4.  And,  (indeed,  in  fact,  in  truth,  to  be  sure,  certainly,)  if 
there  were  to  be  any  (difference,  distinction,  unlikeness,  dis- 
similarity) between  a  girl's  education  and  a  boy's,  I  (should, 
would)  say  that  of  the  two  the  girl  should  be  earlier  (taken, 
introduced,  led,  started),  as  her  (mind,  intellect,  brain,  power 
of  thought)  ripens  faster,  into  (profound,  deep)  arid  (grave, 
solemn,  serious,  great)  subjects. 

5.  The  (cliff,  bluff,  precipice)  called  "  Starved  Bock,"  now 
(shown,  pointed  out,  indicated)  to  travelers  as  the  (main,  great, 
chief,   most   striking)    natural    (curiosity,    formation)    of  the 
(region,  district,  section,  vicinity,  place,)  (rises,  ascends,  stands 
up)  (steep,  sheer,  abrupt)  on  three  sides  as  a  castle  wall,  to  the 
height  of  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  above  the  (water, 
stream,  river).     In  front,  it  overhangs  the  water  that  (laves, 
laps,  washes)  its  (foot,  base)  ;  its  western  (crest,  summit,  brow) 
looks  down  on  the  (tips,  tops,  heads)  of  the  forest  trees  below, 


CHOICE   OF   WORDS  203 

and  on  the  east  (lies,  extends,  spreads,  reaches  out)  a  wide 
gorge,  or  ravine,  (choked,  stuffed,  filled,  piled)  with  the  (mixed, 
mingled,  various)  foliage  of  oaks,  walnuts,  and  elms ;  while  in 
its  (rugged,  rough,  stony,  rocky,  jagged)  depths  a  little  (stream, 
rivulet,  brook,  creek)  creeps  down  to  mingle  with  the  river. 

III.  Suggestion  in  words.  —  Most  words  are  mere 
matter-of-fact  words,  that  is,  they  convey  an  idea 
without  suggesting  anything  of  pleasure  or  of  dis- 
pleasure connected  with  it.  "  Little  valley  "  is  about 
the  same  in  meaning  as  "  dell "  or  "  dale/'  but  the 
latter  words  are,  by  reason  of  their  history  or  use, 
poetic,  full  of  pleasant  suggestion,  while  "  little  val- 
ley "  is  a  plain  and,  as  we  say,  colorless  expression. 
Scientific  books,  and  most  school  books,  are  written 
usually  in  plain,  everyday  English,  for  in  them  the 
object  is  merely  clear  explanation.  But  writing  that 
is  intended  to  give  pleasure  is  full  of  color,  warmth, 
imagination,  suggestion,  or,  in  one  word,  feeling. 

We  have  already  learned  in  studying  description 
(Chapter  V)  how  important  it  is  to  express  the  sense- 
impressions  and  the  feelings  that  the  thing  or  person 
described  produces  in  us.  We  have  also  learned  (in 
Chapter  X)  that  specific  words  are  more  emphatic 
and  lively  than  general  words ;  this  is  because  spe- 
cific words  usually  suggest  more  than  general  words. 
Thus,  "dale"  is  a  particular  kind  of  valley.  The 
more  general  term  suggests  less.  In  the  same  way, 
when  we  see  the  word  "  plant,"  less  is  suggested  to 
us,  we  see  less  and  feel  less,  than  when  we  see  the 
word  u  rosebush." 


204  WRITING  IN   ENGLISH 

In  the  following  selections  note  the  words  that  are 
printed  in  italics.  They  are  not  plain,  colorless,  un- 
suggestive  words,  but  they  express  some  sort  of  feel- 
ing, either  pleasurable  or  the  opposite. 

"  And  soon  the  dappled  softening  sky  gave  some  earnest  of  its 
mood ;  for  a  brisk  south  wind  arose,  and  the  blessed  rain  came 
driving ;  cold,  indeed,  yet  most  refreshing  to  the  skin,  all 
parched  with  snow,  and  the  eyeballs  so  long  dazzled"  —  Black- 
more,  Lorna  Doone. 

"  Here  comes  a  big,  rough  dog,  a  countryman's  dog  in  search 
of  his  master,  smelling  at  everybody's  heels,  and  touching  little 
Annie's  hand  with  his  cold  nose,  but  hurrying  away,  though 
she  would  fain  have  patted  him.  —  Hawthorne,  Twice-Told 
Tales. 

"  Let  their  last  feeble  and  lingering  glance  rather  behold  the 
gorgeous  ensign  of  the  Republic,  now  known  and  honored 
throughout  the  earth,  still  full  high  advanced,  its  arms  and 
trophies  streaming  in  their  original  luster,  not  a  stripe  erased 
or  polluted,  not  a  single  star  obscured"  —  Webster,  Speech  in 
Eeply  to  Hayne. 

"There  is  certainly  some  chill  and  arid  knowledge  to  be 
found  upon  the  summits  of  formal  and  laborious  science ;  but 
it  is  all  round  about  you,  and  for  the  trouble  of  looking,  that 
you  will  acquire  the  warm  and  palpitating  facts  of  life."  — 
Stevenson,  Virginibus  Puerisque. 

Suppose  we  try  to  put  this  last  statement  into 
plain  and  unsuggestive  language.  It  would  become 
something  like  this,  "  There  is  certainly  some  merely 
intellectual  knowledge  to  be  found  in  the  study  of 
science ;  but  everywhere  and  without  study  are  to  be 
acquired  the  facts  of  human  life." 


CHOICE   OF   WORDS  205 

Exercise  134.  Suggestive  use  of  words.  —  In  the  fol- 
lowing groups,  select  the  words  that  are  suggestive, 
agreeably  or  disagreeably,  and  write  sentences  contain- 
ing such  words.  State  also  which  words  are  plain  and 
matter-of-fact. 

1.  Walked,  limped,  skipped,  hobbled,  moved,  hurried. 

2.  Touch,  caress,  fondle,  pet,  handle,  seize. 

3.  High,  lofty,  tall,  commanding,  noble,  grand,  stupendous, 
impressive. 

4.  Small,  inconsiderable,   petty,  mean,  contemptible,  deli- 
cate, fine,  minute,  tiny. 

5.  Looked,  gazed,  stared,  glared,  glowered,  observed,  beamed. 

6.  Green,  verdant,  emerald,  fresh,  succulent,  juicy. 

7.  Smell,  sniff,  odor,  fragrance,  aroma,  stench. 

8.  Unlighted,  dark,  dismal,  gloomy,  darksome,  dim,  obscure, 
shady. 

9.  Large,  extensive,  vast,  great,  limitless,  tremendous,  enor- 
mous, immense,  overwhelming. 

10.  Dry,  waterless,  arid,  parched,  moistureless,  juiceless,  sere. 

Exercise  135.  Suggestive  use  of  adjectives.  — Such  ad- 
jectives as  the  following  were  doubtless  originally  ap- 
plied to  objects  known  through  the  senses.  But  they 
can  be  applied,  suggestively,  to  states  of  the  mind  or 
feelings,  or  to  character  or  some  abstract  idea.  Write 
sentences  containing  these  adjectives  so  applied. 

1.   Dull.     2.   Keen.  3.   Bright.      4.   Narrow.      5.   High. 

6.   Fine.       7.   Hazy.  8.    Sweet.       9.   Hard.       10.   White. 

11.   Black.     12.    Solid.  13.   Hollow.     14.   Cold.     15.   Luke- 
warm. 

Exercise  136.  Criticism  of  composition.  —  Look  over  one 
or  more  of  the  letters  recently  written  by  you,  and  re- 
write, substituting,  wherever  it  is  possible,  more  accurate 
or  more  suggestive  words  in  place  of  those  you  have  used. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

EXPOSITION    AND    ARGUMENT 

WE  have  heretofore  been  mainly  concerned  with 
description  and  narration,  as  those  are  the  commoner 
kinds  of  composition,  and  require  less  study  or  prep- 
aration of  material  than  the  kinds  we  are  now  to 
consider.  Before  we  can  write  an  exposition  of  a 
subject  or  enter  into  an  argument,  we  ought  to  do 
either  some  reading  or  some  thinking,  and  usually 
both. 

I.  Exposition.  —  The  object  in  exposition  is  to 
explain  a  subject  clearly,  and  as  satisfactorily  and 
fully  as  our  space  admits,  or  as  suits  our  purpose.  If 
possible,  we  ought  also  to  make  our  treatment  of  the 
subject  not  dry  and  merely  matter-of-fact,  but  some- 
what interesting  and  entertaining.  This  may  be  done 
by  a  suggestive  and  pleasing  choice  of  words,  and  by 
sprinkling  a  few  ideas  and  observations  amid  the 
facts  presented. 

In  preparing  for  an  exposition,  we  need  to  get 
abundant  information  on  the  subject.  This  we  may 
get  in  several  ways  :  — 

1.  By  thinking,  3.    By  conversations, 

2.  By  observation,  4.   By  reading. 

206 


EXPOSITION   AND  ARGUMENT  207 

"  But,"  you  may  ask,  "  how  can  one  get  informa- 
tion just  by  thinking  over  a  subject  ?  "  It  may  be 
admitted  that  thinking  does  not  of  itself  give  us 
information,  but  that  we  should  think  about  our 
subjects  for  exposition  is  so  important  that  thinking 
should  be  put  first  of  all.  We  cannot  know  what 
to  look  for  in  our  reading  unless  we  have  thought 
enough  about  the  subject  to  have  discovered  certain 
questions  that  need  to  be  answered. 

For  expositions,  since  they  aim  at  explaining  a 
subject,  will  have  to  answer  for  the  reader  all  his 
reasonable  questions.  In  most  expositions,  these 
questions  are  apt  to  be  such  as  the  following  :  — 

1.  What  is  the  meaning  or  definition  of  the  subject  ? 

2.  What  kinds  of  it  are  there  ? 

3.  Where  does  it  come  from? 

4.  How  is  it  made  ?  or  how  does  it  grow  ? 

5.  What  are  the  parts  of  it  ? 

6.  What  are  the  uses  of  it  ? 

7.  What  are  its  effects  or  influences  ? 

In  writing  expositions  we  must  carefully  plan  out 
the  composition  in  advance,  making  sure  that  what 
we  say  shall  have  completeness  and  unity.  If  you 
went  to  hear  a  lecture  on  "  Cricket,"  and  the  speaker 
should  tell  about  the  pof  ularity  of  the  game  in  Eng- 
land, the  origin  of  it,  and  the  way  it  was  formerly 
played,  and  then  should  praise  it  as  a  better  game 
than  baseball,  but  should  omit  to  explain  how  a 
game  of  cricket  is  played,  you  would  feel  dissatis- 


208  WRITING   IN   ENGLISH 

fied  and  think  that  the  lecture  lacked  completeness, 
and  that  the  talk  about  baseball  could  be  spared,  to 
the  advantage  of  unity. 

Exercise  137.  Outlining  for  exposition.  —  Without  read- 
ing or  talking  on  any  of  the  following  subjects,  think 
out  and  write  down  for  each  one  in  the  form  of  an 
outline  the  topics  you  think  should  be  included  in 
an  exposition. 

1.  The  making  of  pottery.  2.  The  making  of  bricks. 
3.  Honey.  4.  Yellow  paint  (ochre).  5.  Olive  oil.  6.  Rai- 
sins. 7.  Coffee.  8.  Good  roads.  9.  Coal.  10.  Gunpowder. 
11.  How  to  raise  tomato  plants.  12.  Use  of  bicycles  in 
war.  13.  Bookbinding.  14.  How  thermometers  are  made. 
15.  Stamp  collecting.  16.  Cider.  17.  Beer.  18.  Maple 
syrup.  19.  Weather  forecasting.  20.  Ants. 

Exercise  138.  Writing  of  expository  paragraphs.  —  On 
each  of  the  following  topics  write  a  paragraph.  Under- 
score the  topic  sentence. 

1.  Danger  of  too  little  exercise,  —  effect  on  digestion  —  on 
the  blood  —  on  the  circulation  —  on  the  brain. 

2.  Effects  of  a  warm  climate,  —  makes  men  lazy — much 
sleep  —  little  brain  work  —  no  need  of  energetic  work. 

3.  Learning  to  skate,  —  first  efforts  —  difficulties  —  how  to 
overcome  them  —  cautions. 

4.  Disadvantages  of  large  classes  in  school,  —  bad   air  — 
tendency  to  noise  and  inattention  —  teacher  has  too  many  to 
look  after  —  each  pupil  receives  less  attention  than  in  a  small 
class. 

5.  Causes  of  the  Spanish- American  war,  —  the  situation  in 
Cuba  —  our  commerce  with  Cuba  —  the  feelings  of  the  Ameri- 
can people  —  the   blowing  up   of   the   Maine  —  the   political 
reasons. 


EXPOSITION   AND   ARGUMENT  209 

Exercise  139.  Writing  of  expositions.  —  Prepare  for  a 
thorough  and  interesting  exposition  of  one  of  the  sub- 
jects given  in  Exercise  137 ,  and  make  a  complete  out- 
line. Write  the  composition,  aiming  at  clearness  and 
skillful  choice  of  words.  Avoid  arguing;  simply  ex- 
plain the  subject.  Later,  write  as  many  other  expo- 
sitions as  the  teacher  may  direct.  There  are  some 
additional  subjects  given  at  the  end  of  Chapter  I. 

II.  Argument.  —  In  argument,  the  subject,  if  fully 
stated,  must  always  be  a  'sentence,  because,  for  stating 
a  truth  or  an  untruth,  a  proposition  is  required.  We 
must  aim,  in  arguing,  at  clearness,  but  of  course  the 
main  thing  is  convincingness.  We  wish,  therefore,  to 
get  all  the  arguments  we  can  that  support  eur  side 
of  the  question,  and  to  weaken  or  overthrow  all  the 
arguments  of  our  opponents. 

There  are  several  important  matters  to  be  kept  in 
mind  when  we  are  preparing  an  argument :  — 

1.  The  subject  must  be  clearly  stated ;  and  the 
meaning  of  it,  and  the  words  used  in  it,  must  be 
agreed  upon,  or  made  perfectly  plain  by  definition. 
It  is  too  common  to  see   the  opponents  in  debates 
argue  about  entirely  different  questions. 

2.  Do  not  waste  time  over  unimportant  matters  ; 
strike  at  the  main  points. 

3.  Remember  that  your  opponent,  real  or  imagi- 
nary, has  arguments  for  his  side  of  the  question. 
You  cannot  ignore  these.     If  you  do,  it  will  look  as 
if  you  could  not  answer  them.     If  you  do  not  know 
what  is  to  be  said,  or  may  be  said,  on  the  other  side 

WRIT.    IN    ENG.  14 


210  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

of  the  question,  you  should  devote  some  of  your  time 
to  thinking  and  reading  on  that  side.  Answering 
your  opponents'  arguments  is  called  refutation. 

4.  In  writing  or  delivering  your  argument,  it  is 
well  to  adopt  a  courteous  tone  toward  your  adversary, 
and  to  be  considerate  and  even  complimentary  toward 
your  audience.  Do  not  forget  that  you  are  trying, 
not  only  to  convince  the  minds  of  the  audience,  but 
to  persuade  them  to  feel  about  the  subject  as  you  do. 

The  first  great  step  in  outlining  or  planning  an 
argument  is  to  divide  the  subject  into  two,  three,  or 
four  main  questions  or  aspects.  Thus,  if  the  subject 
is,— 

Should  women  be  granted  the  right  to  vote  ? 

you  might  consider  the  arguments  under  these 
heads :  — 

1.  The  justice  of  granting  the  suffrage  to  women. 

2.  The  wisdom  of  it. 
Or  if  the  subject  is,  — 

The  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  should  be  prohibited, 

and  you  are  on  the  negative  or  denying  side,  you 
might  take  for  main  divisions  :  — 

1.  Is  prohibition  desirable  ? 

2.  Is  it  wise  ? 

3.  Is  it  possible  ?  (or  practicable  ?) 

Exercise  140.  Division  of  argument.  —  In  a  way  simi- 
lar to  that  just  described,  suggest  main  heads  for  the 
discussion  of  the  following  questions:  — 


EXPOSITION   AND  ARGUMENT  211 

1.  The  spelling  of  English  words  should  be  reformed. 

2.  Hawthorne  was  a  greater  writer  than  Irving. 

3.  Examinations  should  be  abolished. 

4.  Young  persons  should  not  read  the  newspapers. 

5.  French  and  German  should  not  be  taught  in  American 
schools. 

6.  Washington  was  not  so  great  a  man  as  Lincoln. 

7.  Writers  are  more  useful  than  inventors. 

8.  Winter  is  to  be  preferred  to  summer. 

9.  The  Spanish-American  war  should  have  been  prevented. 

10.  Novel  reading  is  a  waste  of  time. 

11.  The  observance  of  the  Sabbath  should  be  compulsory. 

12.  A  man  should  always  vote  with  his  party. 

We  must  in  an  argument  try  to  get  all  the  proofs 
we  can.  Proofs  may  be  divided  into  three  kinds  or 
classes,  the  knowing  of  which  will  help  us  strengthen 
our  argument :  — 

1.  Proofs  from  what  might  naturally  be  expected. 

2.  Proofs  from  observation  or  general  knowledge. 

3.  Proofs  from  the  experience  or  the  opinions  of 
others. 

All  these  may  be  (a)  direct  proofs,  supporting  our 
own  side  of  the  question,  or  (b)  indirect  proofs,  weak- 
ening or  overthrowing  our  opponents'  side.  Of  the 
three  classes  of  proofs  just  mentioned,  the  first  is 
of  course  the  least  convincing.  The  second  form  of 
proof  becomes  more  convincing  in  proportion  to  the 
carefulness  of  the  observation  recorded  and  the  gen- 
eral acceptance  of  the  knowledge  stated.  The  third 
form  of  proof  depends  for  its  validity  on  the  thorough- 


212  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

ness  with  which  evidence  has  been  tested  and  the  repu- 
tation and  authority  of  the  persons  whose  opinions 
are  quoted. 

Exercise  141.  Kinds  of  proofs.  —  In  the  following 
cases  tell  what  kind  of  proof  each  one  is:  — 

(a)  Subject,  A  killed  B.  1.  A  was  a  man  of  bad  and  des- 
perate character.  2.  A  blood-stained  knife  was  found  in  his 
room.  3.  The  effort  to  show  that  A  staid  at  home  on  the 
night  of  the  murder  fails.  4.  He  had  been  known  as  an 
enemy  of  B.  5.  After  the  murder,  A  was  observed  to  have 
more  money  to  spend  than  before. 

(6)  Subject,  7s  the  United  States  as  great  a  nation  as  England? 
1.  The  purpose  of  our  forefathers  was  to  secure  and  establish 
freedom.  2.  The  territorial  growth  of  the  United  States  and 
its  increase  in  wealth  and  population.  3.  The  noble  history 
of  England.  4.  Unjustly  privileged  land-holding  classes  in 
England.  5.  The  thousands  of  the  poor  and  degraded  in 
London.  6.  The  alleged  greater  purity  of  English  politics. 
7.  The  negro  population  in  America.  8.  England's  great 
colonies.  9.  Lincoln's  opinion  of  the  American  government. 
10.  Dickeus's  opinion  (in  American  Notes).  11.  Lawless 
regions  in  the  United  States. 

When  we  have  undertaken  an  argument,  we  should, 
after  stating  our  main  divisions  of  the  whole,  set  to 
work  to  think  out,  or  else  get  from  reading,  proofs 
of  all  the  tbree  classes  above  named,  including  those 
supporting  our  side  and  those  against  the  other  side. 
All  these  proofs  should  be  arranged  under  the  main 
heads,  and  there  we  have  our  outline,  or,  as  it  is  often 
called  in  argumentation,  our  brief.  For  example  ;  — 


EXPOSITION   AND   ARGUMENT  213 

Brief  on  the  subject,  Composition  is  a  more  impor- 
tant study  than  arithmetic :  — 

I.    Introduction 

(a)  Meaning  of  composition  and  arithmetic 
(6)  Meaning  of  "  important  " 
(c)   Division  of  subject  (see  a  and  b  under  dis- 
cussion) 

II.    Discussion 

(a)  Composition  is  more  important  in  school 
than  arithmetic  is. 

1.  Writing  is  necessary  in  most  other 

school  studies. 

2.  Oral    recitation,  which   is    a   form 

of  composition,  is  necessary  in  all 
school  studies. 

3.  Composition  work  trains  us  how  to 

think  and  reason  ;    this  is  valu- 
able for  all  school  work. 

4.  Arithmetic  is  mostly  a  matter  of 

memory  and  practice. 

5.  Composition  work  leads  us  to  under- 

stand, consider,  and  appreciate  all 
we  read  in  school. 

(&)  Composition   is   more   important   out  of 

school  than  arithmetic  is. 
1.    It  is  natural  to  expect  this,  because 
in  life  we  do  so  much  more  read- 
ing and  writing  than  figuring. 


214  WRITING  IN  ENGLISH 

2.  To  be  able  to  write  well  is  impor- 

tant in  more  occupations  than  to 
be  able  to  compute. 

3.  All  but  the  simpler  kinds  of  arith- 

metical work  are  never  used  after 
one  leaves  school. 

4.  There  is  a  great  demand  from  busi- 

ness men  for  assistants  who  can 
write  good  English. 

5.  In   later  life  it  is  important  to  be 

able  to  win  people  to  one's  ideas 
by  writing  or  talking  well. 

6.  We  may  derive  much  pleasure  from 

good  writing  and  the  appreciation 
of  good  reading. 

7.  The  opinion  of  ...  and    ...  on 

this  question. 
III.   Conclusion 

(a)  Summing  up  of  the  arguments 
(&)  Statement  of  the  conclusion 

Exercise  142.  Preparation  of  brief.  —  Following  -more 
or  less  the  plan  just  given,  prepare  a  full  outline  or 
brief  on  one  side  of  one  of  the  subjects  given  in  Exer- 
cise 140  or  at  the  end  of  Chapter  I. 

Exercise  143.  Written  argument.  —  From  the  brief 
called  for  in  Exercise  14®>  or  from  a  brief  on  some 
other  question  than  the  one  formerly  selected,  write  out 
the  argument  in  full,  in  the  form  of  a  speech.  In 
doing  this,  bear  in  mind  what  is  said  on  page  211, 
about  how  to  malce  arguments  strong.  If  you  quote 


EXPOSITION   AND  ARGUMENT  215 

opinions,  let  them  be  those  of  persons  regarded  as  au- 
thorities ;  if  you  offer  as  facts  statements  not  of  your 
own  knowledge,  try  to  ascertain,  and  to  convince  your 
readers  or  hearers,  that  the  statements  are  true. 

Exercise  144.  Criticism.  —  dfter  completing  the  ar- 
gument called  for  in  the  last  exercise,  criticise  it,  sen- 
tence by  sentence,  with  regard  to  clearness,  unity,  and 
paragraphing. 

1.  Any  superfluous  "  ands  "  ? 

2.  Any  sentence  containing  unconnected  ideas  ? 

3.  Any  faulty  use  of  pronouns  ? 

4.  Any  misplacing  of  modifiers  ? 

5.  Any  paragraphs  without  definite  topic  and  unity  ? 

Exercise  145.  Criticism.  —  Now  read  critically  the 
essay  again,  this  time  with  respect  to  emphasis  and 
choice  of  words. 

1.  Any  opportunity  for  interrogation,  exclamation,  or  direct 
quotation  ? 

2.  Any  need  of  repetition  of  a  word,  or  any  place  for  cut- 
ting out  unnecessary  words  ? 

3.  Any  opportunity  to  change  to  order  of  climax  or  of  peri- 
odic sentence  ? 

4.  Any  chance  to  introduce  simile  or  metaphor  ? 

5.  Any  possible  improvement  in  choice  of  words,  so  as  to 
use  more  accurate,  specific,  emphatic,  or  suggestive  terms  ? 

Exercise  146.  Oral  debate.  — Let  the  class  choose  sides 
on  some  question  for  debate,  then  let  each  member  of 
the  class  collect  arguments  for  his  side  and  arrange 
them  in  a  brief.  Let  the  class  on  the  appointed  day 
form  itself  into  a  debating  society,  elect  a  president 
and  a  secretary,  and  debate  the  question,  all  speaking 
in  turn.  The  teacher  is  to  decide  which  side  wins. 


APPENDIX  I 
MARKS  FOR  USE  IN  CRITICISM  OF  COMPOSITIONS 

NOTE.  —  Some  of  these  marks  relate  to  general  faults,  and  some  to 
very  specific  ones.  The  teacher  will,  of  course,  use  such  of  the  marks 
as  he  believes  most  suitable,  and  will  add  others  if  the  need  for  them 
appears. 

Both  the  outline  and  the  composition  should  be  criticised. 

To  show  that  a  marginal  criticism  refers  to  some  special  word  or  words, 
the  latter  may  be  underlined  or  marked  out  or  inclosed  in  brackets.  It  is 
often  well  to  let  the  pupil  find  out  for  himself  what  word  in  the  line  is, 
for  example,  misspelled. 

Two  or  more  of  the  marks  may  be  combined,  as,  0  inc,  outline  incom- 
plete ;  U  ns,  lack  of  unity,  divide  into  shorter  sentences. 

ab  Abrupt;  lack  of  introductory  words,  or  sudden  change 
of  subject  without  making  connection. 

ad  Adjective  wrongly  used  for  adverb,  or  adverb  for  adjec- 
tive. (After  verbs  of  being,  or  becoming,  or  seeming, 
the  adjective  is  correct,  as  it  describes  the  subject  and 
does  not  limit  the  verb ;  as,  She  is  looking  beautiful 
to-night.) 

agr  Agreement  faulty,  either  of  verb  and  subject,  or  of  pro- 
noun and  antecedent. 

amb  Ambiguous;  word  or  expression  may  be  understood  in 
two  ways.  (As,  We  saw  certain  signs  of  a  storm. 
Here  certain  may  mean  some,  or  sure,  unmistakable.) 

arr  Arrangement  faulty,  causing  either  lack  of  clearness  or 
lack  of  emphasis  (as  by  climax  or  suspended  construc- 
tion ;  see  Chapter  X,  on  emphasis). 

c         Capital  required,  or  capital  wrongly  used  (see  Appendix 

in). 

217 


218  APPENDIX  I 

ch  Choice  of  word  poor;  word  not  accurately  used,  or 
weak  (trite,  too  general,  or  unsuggestive;  see  Chapter 
XIII). 

cl  Lack  of  clearness;  from  faulty  use  of  pronoun,  from 
faulty  arrangement,  from  omission  of  necessary  word 
or  words,  or  from  confusion  of  ideas. 

cond  Condense ;  cut  out  unnecessary  words,  phrases,  or  even 
sentences. 

conn  Connective  ill  chosen ;  avoid  the  "  and  "  habit ;  study  the 
table  of  conjunctions,  page  85. 

cons  Improper  change  of  construction;  in  using  contrasting 
or  added  clauses  or  phrases,  seek  to  make  the  expres- 
sions similar  (see  page  151). 

cxs      Combine  or  recast  into  a  complex  sentence. 

d          Diction  faulty  ;  no  such  word,  consult  the  dictionary. 

eu  Lack  of  euphony  ;  combination  of  words  disagreeable  to 
the  ear. 

excl  Transform  the  sentence  into  the  exclamatory  form,  or 
back  into  the  declarative. 

F  Lack  of  force,  due  to  weak  arrangement  or  poor  choice 
of  expression. 

gr  n     Bad  grammar,  disagreement  in  number. 

gr  t     Bad  grammar,  wrong  tense  of  verb  used. 

inc  Incomplete ;  necessary  part  of  sentence,  or  of  entire  com- 
position, or  of  outline,  omitted. 

intrg  Kecast  the  sentence  into  the  interrogatory  form,  or  back 
into  the  declarative. 

mar     Margin  not  properly  looked  after. 

mis      Misstatement  of  fact. 

N         Lack  of  neatness. 

ns        Put  a  period,  and  begin  a  new  sentence. 

p  Bad  punctuation.  Study  the  rules  for  punctuation  given 
in  Appendix  III. 

pi        Use  the  plural,  or  change  to  the  singular. 

pos  Position  wrong ;  word  too  far  removed  from  its  modifier ; 
or  word  misplaced  that  should  be  in  emphatic  posi- 


MARKS   FOR  CRITICISM  219 

tion,  that  is,  at  the  beginning  or  at  the  end  of  the 
sentence. 

poss  Use  the  possessive  case ;  spell  it  correctly  (see  Appendix 
III  for  rules  for  writing  the  possessive  case  of  nouns, 
page  239). 

0          Outline  faulty,  disorderly,  incomplete,  or  badly  arranged. 

onf  Outline  not  followed  in  the  composition.  The  topics  of 
the  outline  should  be  taken  up  in  their  proper  order, 
and  the  composition  paragraphed  according  to  the 
plan  of  the  outline. 

om  Omission  of  necessary  word  or  words.  In  the  writing 
opposite  this  mark  the  teacher  or  critic  may  place  a 
caret  (A)  where  the  omission  has  occurred. 

quot  Use  direct  quotation  for  emphasis,  and  punctuate  the 
sentence  accordingly  (see  Appendix  III,  page  236). 

red  Redundancy ;  use  of  superfluous  words  or  repetition  of 
idea. 

ref  Reference  not  clear.  This  may  be  true  of  a  pronoun,  a 
participle,  an  adjective,  or  any  other  modifier. 

re  b     Repetition  bad ;  find  synonym  or  change  the  expression. 

re  g  Repetition  good ;  repeat  word  or  expression  for  clearness 
or  emphasis. 

rel  Relative  pronoun  wrongly  chosen;  restrictive  for  coor- 
dinative,  or  the  reverse,  or  change  of  pronoun  re- 
quired by  euphony  (see  page  190). 

rew  Rewrite ;  recast  the  sentence,  or  rewrite  the  entire  com- 
position, according  to  the  position  of  the  mark. 

S         Bad  spelling. 

sim  Use  a  simile  or  a  metaphor  to  explain  or  emphasize  your 
idea. 

sms  Use  simple  sentence ;  recast,  condense,  or  combine  into  a 
simple  sentence. 

subd    Subdivide  the  topic ;  give  the  points  it  includes. 

t  Topic  of  this  paragraph  not  clear.  Make  it  so;  intro- 
duce, if  necessary,  a  topic  sentence. 

tr         Transpose. 


220  APPENDIX  I 

U  Unity  violated.  Sentence  contains  unrelated  ideas  or 
too  many  ideas ;  or  paragraph  does  not  have  unity. 

U         Paragraph.     See  outline  or  observe  change  of  topic. 

no  IF    Do  not  paragraph ;  topic  has  not  changed. 

'~>+~'  Transpose.  (Mark  to  be  used  in  the  body  of  the  text, 
not  in  the  margin.) 

A  Some  letter,  word,  or  words  omitted  here ;  or  else  a  sepa- 
ration into  two  words  is  necessary.  (Mark  to  be 
used  in  the  body  of  the  text,  not  in  the  margin.) 

8          Strike  out  or  omit. 

( -  )      Hyphen  lacking  or  word  wrongly  divided. 

O         Period  omitted. 

X          Error. 

?          Probable  error. 

/or\  Calls  attention  to  a  letter  or  to  a  place  for  punctuation. 
(Mark  to  be  used  in  the  body  of  the  text,  not  in  the 
margin.) 


APPENDIX   II 

ENGLISH   WOKDS 

NOTE.  —  In  connection  with  sections  I  and  II  of  this  Appendix  may 
be  read  the  Historical  Sketch  of  the  English  Language  given  in  Maxwell's 
Advanced  Lessons  in  English  Grammar,  pp.  314-322. 

I.  Sources  of  English  words.  —  There  are  three 
main  elements  in  the  English  vocabulary  :  the  Saxon, 
the  French,  and  the  Latin.  The  French  itself  is 
largely  of  Latin  origin.  The  mingling  of  the  Saxon 
and  the  French  elements,  five  to  six  hundred  years 
ago,  formed  the  English  language.  Many  words 
since  then  have  been  added  from  the  Latin  and  the 
Greek  and  from  most  of  the  modern  languages. 

The  original  inhabitants  of  England  were  Celts, 
called  Britons.  From  about  100  A.D.  to  400  A.D. 
they  were  subject  to  Rome.  The  Roman  soldiers 
withdrew  in  410  A.D.  Very  few  modern  English 
words  are  derived  either  from  the  Celtic  or  from  the 
Latin  of  those  times. 

The  Saxons  came  from  Germany,  and  conquered 
and  settled  England  during  the  fifth  century  A.D. 
(beginning  in  the  year  449). 

Six  centuries  later,  in  the  year  1066,  the  Norman 
French,  under  William  the  Conqueror,  invaded  Eng- 

221 


222  APPENDIX  II 

land  and  subjugated  the  Saxons.  Thereafter,  for 
about  three  hundred  years,  there  were  two  distinct 
languages  spoken  in  England,  —  the  Saxon,  mostly 
by  the  humbler  classes  and  the  serfs ;  the  French,  by 
the  Normans.  Chaucer,  the  author  of  the  Canterbury 
Tales,  was  the  first  great  writer  in  the  English  or 
mixed  tongue  (1340-1400).  His  English  is  not  so 
much  unlike  ours  of  to-day  but  that  it  can  be  read 
with  very  little  trouble. 

When  and  how  did  the  Latin  contributions  come 
in  ?  Easily  and  frequently.  There  were  many 
monks  and  churchmen  in  England  from  early  Saxon 
times  on.  All  these  read  and  spoke  Latin.  Later, 
in  the  times  following  the  period  when  Chaucer  lived, 
there  were  many  scholars  and  learned  men  who 
wrote  Latin,  although  English  was  their  native 
tongue.  When  such  men  wrote  English,  they  natu- 
rally introduced  many  Latin  words  in  an  "  Englished" 
form.  Examples  of  this  late  Latin  contribution 
(fifteenth  century)  may  be  taken  from  this  and  the 
preceding  paragraph :  century,  invaded,  subjugated, 
distinct,  author,  contributions,  frequently,  period  (origi- 
nally from  Greek),  naturally,  introduced,  preceding, 
paragraph  (originally  from  Greek).  Note  that  these 
words  are  rather  long.  If  you  consult  a  dictionary, 
you  will  see  how  very  like  they  are  to  the  Latin  (or 
Greek)  words  from  which  they  are  derived. 

The  following  examples  of  words  of  French  extrac- 
tion are  found  in  the  same  two  paragraphs.  (Note 
that  these  words  are  a  good  deal  changed  from  the 


ENGLISH   WORDS  223 

Latin   originals.     Some   French   words    are    not   of 
Latin,  but  of  Germanic  or  of  Celtic  origin.) 

language  (Fr.  langage,  from  langue,  from  L.  lingua,  a  tongue). 

class  (Fr.  dasse,  from  L.  dassis,  an  assembly,  a  fleet). 

serf  (Fr.  from  L.  servus,  a  slave,  from  servio,  serve). 

humble  (Fr.  from  L.  humilis,  lowly,  from  humus,  the  ground). 

very  (Old  Fr.  verai,  vray,  from  supposed  Low  Latin  veracus, 
from  L.  verax,  veracis,  meaning  veracious,  truthful). 

trouble  (Fr.  from  L.  turbula,  a  little  crowd,  a  disorderly 
crowd,  from  turba,  a  crowd). 

example  (Fr.  from  L.  exemplum,  a  specimen,  from  eximo, 
pick  out,  buy). 

The  word  "  monk,"  which  was  used  in  the  same  paragraph, 
is  from  Latin  monaclius  (original  Greek  meaning,  living  alone, 
solitary).  This  word,  as  an  English  word,  goes  back  to  the 
earliest  days  of  the  Koman  church  in  England.  The  form  of 
it  in  Anglo-Saxon  was  munec  or  munuc.  The  word  "  scholar  " 
is  from  Saxon  sco/ere,  from  scolu,  a  school,  but  this  came  from 
Latin  schola,  a  school  (originally  Greek).  The  h  in  scholar 
was  introduced  much  later,  to  make  the  word  agree  with  Latin 
scholaris,  pertaining  to  a  school. 

Practically,  all  the  other  words  in  those  two  para- 
graphs are  of  Saxon  origin. 

If  we  liken  the  history  of  the  English  language  to 
the  course  of  a  river,  we  should  imagine  the  stream 
of  original  Saxon  words  flowing  on  with  but  little 
change  from  the  time  of  the  Saxon  conquest  (fifth 
century)  to  the  time  of  its  junction  with  the  Norman 
French  language  (fourteenth  century).  During  those 
nine  long  centuries  the  Saxon  speech  accepted  a  few 
words  from  the  conquered  Britons  (whose  descendants 
live  now  mostly  in  Wales,  Ireland,  and  upper  Scot- 


224  APPENDIX  II 

land) ;  a  few  from  the  Danes  (who  invaded  England 
repeatedly  in  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  and 
finally  set  Danish  kings  for  a  time  on  the  Saxon 
throne) ;  and  a  few  words  of  Latin  or  Greek  origin 
from  the  monks  and  priests  (the  words  "  monk/' 
"priest"  and  "  scholar"  are  examples  of  this  class). 
The  Saxon  also  lost  many  of  its  word-endings  or 
inflections.  In  the  early  Saxon  there  were  over 
fifteen  case-forms  of  the  article  "the." 

After  the  great  junction  of  Saxon  and  French, 
five  to  six  hundred  years  ago,  the  enlarged  stream, 
now  English,  received,  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth 
centuries,  many  words  from  the  Latin  and  not  a  few 
from  the  Greek.  As  the  English  people  spread  over 
the  globe,  they  encountered  many  languages  and 
adopted  many  words. 

Thus,  from  the  American  Indian  we  have  wigwam,  papoose, 
squaw,  canoe,  and  the  like.  So  we  have  from  the  Spanish  such 
words  as  alligator,  potato,  negro,  cork,  cigar,  tornado,  and 
vanilla;  from  the  Italian  many  words,  such  as  balcony, 
cameo,  cartoon,  soprano,  piano,  macaroni,  pistol,  and  umbrella. 
From  French  we  have  blonde,  bouquet,  bivouac,  trousseau; 
from  German,  nickel,  meerschaum,  quartz;  from  Hebrew, 
abbey,  cherub,  Sabbath;  from  Arabic,  alcohol,  algebra,  zero, 
gazelle,  lute ;  and  so  on  from  many  other  languages. 

The  histories  of  the  following  words  are  peculiar  and 
interesting,  worth  copying  into  your  notebook :  calico,  copper, 
dollar,  check,  gypsy,  tantalize,  assassin,  panic,  sincere,  tariff, 
salary,  silly,  slave,  vandalism,  daisy,  dahlia,  galvanic,  Friday, 
July,  January.  Many  other  words  of  curious  history  will  be 
found  explained,  usually  with  correctness,  in  Trench's  On  the 
Study  of  Words. 


ENGLISH  WORDS  225 

Finally,  in  recent  times,  down  to  the  present,  as 
new  discoveries  and  inventions  have  been  made,  and 
new  sciences  developed,  many  words  have  been 
coined,  mostly  for  scientific  or  technical  use,  and 
chiefly  from  Latin  and  Greek.  Examples  of  such 
words  are  biology,  geology,  phonograph,  telephone, 
telegraph,  photograph,  photosphere,  spectroscope, 
electrolysis. 

II.  Description  of  the  classes  of  English  words.  — 
Counting  English  words  as  they  are  listed  in  a 
dictionary,  those  of  Saxon  origin  are  a  much  less 
number  than  those  from  the  Latin.  But  the  Saxon 
or  native  English  words  are  used,  in  ordinary  writing 
or  speech,  far  more  than  the  words  of  Latin  origin. 
They  nearly  always  outnumber  the  latter,  if  we  group 
according  to  origin  the  words  used  on  a  page  in  a 
book,  because  the  Saxon  words  are  used  over  and 
over.  We  can  easily  write  whole  pages  without 
using  a  word  of  Latin  origin,  but  we  could  hardly 
write  one  sentence  without  using  words  of  Saxon 
origin. 

The  Saxon  element  in  English  includes,  generally 
speaking :  — 

1.  All  the  pronouns. 

2.  All  the  prepositions. 

3.  All  the  conjunctions. 

4.  All  the  numeral  adjectives,  except  second,  and 
the  articles. 

5.  All  the  auxiliary  verbs. 

WRIT.    IN    EXG.  — 15 


226  APPENDIX  II 

6.  Most  of  the  nouns,  adjectives,  verbs,  and  ad- 
verbs expressing  simple  everyday  ideas. 

Words  of  French  and  Latin  origin  are  usually  more 
general  and  abstract.  Compare  the  following :  — 

Words  of  Saxon  origin  From  French  or  Latin 

walk,   go,   run,    skip,   hop,   jump,  move,  proceed, 

leap,  fly,  swim,  crawl, 
eye,  nose,  ear,  hand,  tongue,  cheek,  feature,  part, 

foot,  head, 
red,   yellow,    green,   blue,  brown,  tint,  color, 

black,  white, 
father,    mother,     brother,    sister,  parent,  relative, 

son,  daughter, 
fox,  bird,  fowl,  snake,  whale,  bee,  beast,    creature,   ani- 

cat,  hound,  wolf.  mal. 

Perhaps  the  simplest  way  to  compare  the  French 
and  the  Latin  elements  in  English  is  to  place  side  by 
side,  in  pairs,  English  words :  (1)  from  the  Norman 
French,  adopted  mostly  in  the  fourteenth  century; 
(2)  from  the  Latin  direct,  coming  in  later  than 
the  fourteenth  century  —  mostly  book-words  at  first, 
only  gradually  adopted  into  speech. 

(1)  From  the  (2)  From  the  (3)   The  Latin 

French  Latin  words 

benison  benediction,  benedictionem 

sir,  sire  senior  seniorem 

feat  fact  factum 

chance  cadence  cadentiam 

loyal  legal  legalem 

royal,  real  regal  regalem 

poor  pauper  pauperem 


ENGLISH  WORDS  227 

poison  potion  potionem 

caitiff  captive  captivum 

sure  secure  securum 

treason  tradition  traditionem 

frail  fragile  fragilem 

parcel  particle  particulam 

sever  separate  separatum 

If  it  seems  hard  to  understand  how  the  words  in 
the  first  column  came  from  those  in  the  third,  we 
must  remember  that  for  centuries  there  existed 
no  written  French  or  English,  and  that  until  after 
the  invention  of  printing  in  the  fifteenth  century, 
there  were  so  few  books  that  languages  were  pre- 
served only  by  custom  in  speech.  Spoken  languages 
naturally  change  from  period  to  period.  Words  are 
usually  worn  down  and  shortened  in  common  speech, 
as  may  be  seen  from  the  table  just  given. 

III.    Word-formation. 

In  Maxwell's  Advanced  Lessons  in  English  Grammar,  Part  II,  Chap- 
ter IV,  pp.  206-221,  there  is  to  be  found  a  much  fuller  treatment  of  the 
subject  of  word-formation  in  English  than  can  or  need  be  given  here. 
There  are  also  given  exercises. 

The  following  are  short  lists  of  prefixes  and  suffixes 
of  English  words :  — 

ENGLISH   PREFIXES  LATIN    PREFIXES  GREEK    PRE- 

for-,  fore-,  mis-,  un-,  ab-,  ad-,  ante-,  bi-,  contra-, 

be-,  with-,  en-.  cum-  (French   col-,   com-,  anti-,  auto-, 

coun-,   cor-),  di-,  in-,  ex-,  dia-,  epi-, 

per-,  pre-,  pro-,  post-,  se-,  hemi-,    mono-, 

semi-,  sub-,  super-,  trans-,  peri-,  syn-. 


228 


APPENDIX  II 


ENGLISH    SUFFIXES 

For  nouns : 
-dom,    -hood,     -ing, 
-ness,  -ship,  -ie,  -ling, 
-ster,  -ard. 

For  adjectives: 
-ed,  -ern,  -en,  -fold, 
-ful,   -ish,   -less,  -ly, 
-some,  -wise,  -ward. 

For  verbs: 
-en. 


LATIN    SUFFIXES 

For  nouns: 

-age,  -ance,  -ence,  -ion, 
-ment,  -tude,  -ty,  -y,  -or, 
-ary,  -er,  -ate,  -ist. 

For  adjectives  : 
-acious,  -al,  -ant,  -able,  -ar, 
-ent,  -ible,  -ic,  -id,  -il,  -ive, 
-lent,  -ose  (-ous),  -und. 

For  verbs: 
-ate,  -fy. 


GREEK    SUF- 
FIXES 

For  nouns: 

-sis. 


For  adjec- 
tives : 
-ic. 


For  verbs : 
-ize  (-ise). 


The  following  are  some  of  the  most  useful  Latin 
and  Greek  root-words  employed  in  English  word- 
formation,  (pp.  stands  for  past  participle,  as  ard-, 
burn,  pp.  arsus,  burnt.) 

Latin  root-words,  (a)  verbs  (6)  nouns  and  adjectives 


ag-,  do  (pp.  actus) 

am-,  love 

aud-,  hear 

cap-,  take  (pp.  captus) 

cad-,  fall  (pp.  casus) 

cred-,  believe 

ced-,  go,  come 

die-,  say 

doc-,  teach 

due-,  lead 

f ac-,  make ;  fi-,  become 

leg-,  read 

mitt-,  send  (pp.  missus) 

nasc-,  be  born  (pp.  natus) 


ager,  field 
anima,  soul 
animus,  mind 
annus,  year 
aqua,  water 
caput,  head 
earn-,  flesh 
cura,  care 
deus,  god 
finis,  end 
gradus,  step 
gravis,  heavy 
homo,  man 
littera,  letter 


ENGLISH   WORDS  229 

pet-,  seek  m,  great 

port-,  carry  manus,  hand 

reg-,  rule  mors,  death 

stru-,  build  (pp.  structus)  multus,  many 

tang-,  touch  (pp.  tactus)  novus,  new 

sci-,  know  nox,  night 

scrib-,  write  (pp.  scriptus)  omnis,  all 

spir-,  breathe  ped-,  foot 

terr-,  frighten  rota,  wheel 

vid-,  see  terra,  land 

vor-,  eat,  devour  unus,  one 

Greek  root-words 

anthropos,  man  opsis,  sight  (optikos,  pertain- 
bios,  life  ing  to  the  sight) 

deka,  ten  orthos,  right 

dunamis,  power  petra,  rock 

ge,  earth  phemi,  speak 
graphein,      write      (gramma,     philein,  love 

something  written)  phone,  sound 

hekaton,  a  hundred  skopein,  see 

hippos,  horse  sophia,  wisdom 

kuklos,  circle  sphaira,  globe 

logos,  speech,  treatise  tele,  distant,  far 

metron,  measure  theos,  god 

monos,  alone  tupos,  a  type,  a  figure 

Properly  coined  words  should  combine  Greek 
affixes  with  Greek  words,  Latin  with  Latin,  and 
English  with  English.  Such  words  as  walkist,  elec- 
trocution (from  Gk.  electron,  amber,  and  the  termi- 
nation of  the  Latin  word  executionem,  from  ex  and 
sequor,  pp.  secutum,  follow),  shadowgraph,  burglarize, 
and  cablegram,  are  badly  coined. 


230  APPENDIX  II 

IV.  Style  as  affected  by  the  derivation  of  words.  — 
In  each  of  the  following  two  selections,  both  taken 
from  Irving' s  Stratford  on  Avon,  in  the  Sketch-Book, 
count  up  the  number  of  words  you  take  to  be  of 
Saxon  origin  and  those  of  classical  origin.  In  which 
selection  is  used  the  larger  proportion  of  native  Eng- 
lish words  ?  Which  is  the  simpler  style  of  writing  ? 
What  in  the  character  of  the  subject-matter  made  it 
natural  for  Irving  to  use  more  Saxon  words  in  one 
passage  than  in  the  other? 

Its  situation  is  quiet  and  retired:  the  river  runs  murmur- 
ing at  the  foot  of  the  churchyard,  and  the  elms  which  grow 
upon  its  banks  droop  their  branches  into  its  clear  bosom.  An 
avenue  of  limes,  the  boughs  of  which  are  curiously  interlaced, 
so  as  to  form  in  summer  an  arched  way  of  foliage,  leads  up 
from  the  gate  of  the  yard  to  the  church  porch.  The  graves 
are  overgrown  with  grass ;  the  gray  tombstones,  some  of  them 
nearly  sunk  into  the  earth,  are  half  covered  with  moss,  which 
has  likewise  tinted  the  reverend  old  building.  Small  birds 
have  built  their  nests  among  the  cornices  and  fissures  of  the 
walls,  and  keep  up  a  continual  nutter  and  chirping ;  and  rooks 
are  sailing  and  cawing  about  its  lofty  gray  spire. 

As  I  crossed  the  bridge  over  the  Avon  on  my  return,  I 
paused  to  contemplate  the  distant  church  in  which  the  poet 
lies  buried,  and  could  not  but  exult  in  the  malediction  which 
has  kept  his  ashes  undisturbed  in  its  quiet  and  hallowed  vaults. 
What  honor  could  his  name  have  derived  from  being  mingled 
in  dusty  companionship  with  the  epitaphs  and  escutcheons 
and  venal  eulogiums  of  a  titled  multitude?  What  would  a 
crowded  corner  in  Westminster  Abbey  have  been,  compared 
with  this  reverend  pile,  which  seems  to  stand  in  beautiful 
loneliness  as  his  sole  mausoleum!  The  solicitude  about  the 
grave  may  be  but  the  offspring  of  an  overwrought  sensibility  j 


ENGLISH  WORDS  231 

but  human  nature  is  made  up  of  foibles  and  prejudices ;  and 
its  best  and  tenderest  affections  are  mingled  with  these  facti- 
tious feelings. 

The  words  italicized  in  the  following  selection 
(from  Irving' s  Westminster  Abbey)  are  of  Latin  or 
classical  origin.  Note  the  fine  effect  they  produce 
by  being  placed  in  contrast  with  the  simple  and 
homely  Saxon  words. 

The  time  must  come  when  its  gilded  vaults,  which  now 
spring  so  loftily,  shall  lie  in  rubbish  beneath  the  feet ;  when, 
instead  of  the  sound  of  melody  and  praise,  the  wind  shall 
whistle  through  the  broken  arches,  and  the  owl  hoot  from  the 
shattered  tower  —  when  the  garish  sunbeam  shall  break  into 
these  gloomy  mansions  of  death ;  and  the  ivy  twine  round  the 
fallen  column  ;  and  the  foxglove  hang  its  blossoms  about  the 
nameless  urn,  as  if  in  mockery  of  the  dead.  Thus  man  passes 
away ;  his  name  perishes  from  record  and  recollection ;  his  his- 
tory is  as  a  tale  that  is  told,  and  his  very  monument  becomes 
a  ruin. 


APPENDIX  III 

EULES  FOR  PUNCTUATION,  CAPITALIZATION,  AND 
SPELLING 

NOTE.  —  These  rules  are  adapted  and  condensed  from  Maxwell's 
Advanced  Lessons  in  English  Grammar,  pp.  270-278  (punctuation)  ; 
pp.  69-75  (rules  for  use  of  capitals  and  for  spelling). 

I.   Punctuation. 

Punctuation  is  necessary  to  mark  (1)  the  close  of  a 
sentence  ;  (2)  pauses  required  in  reading ;  (3)  the 
elements  or  parts  of  sentences  to  be  joined  in  mean- 
ing. It  is  a  mistake  to  think  punctuation  of  little 
importance.  Accurate  punctuation  shows  accurate 
thinking,  an  understanding  of  the  construction  of 
the  sentence,  and  of  the  relations  of  the  parts.  You 
cannot  punctuate  correctly  unless  you  think  clearly 
and  understand  what  you  wish  to  say. 

(a)  The  points  used  to  mark  the  completion  of  a 
sentence  are  the  period  (.),  the  question  mark  (?), 
and  the  exclamation  mark  (!). 

The  period  marks  the  end  of  every  declarative  and 
every  imperative  sentence,  unless  the  words  are 
spoken  with  strong  feeling ;  then  the  exclamation 
mark  is  used ;  as,  Go  at  once ! 

The  period  is  also  used  to  mark  abbreviations ;  as, 
The  Rev.  John  Sinclair,  D.D.,  read  from  Rev.  xxi. 

232 


PUNCTUATION  233 

The  question  mark  is  used  after  an  interrogative 
sentence,  arid  after  a  direct  question  contained  in  any 
sentence ;  example  of  the  latter :  When  he  asked 
"  What  are  you  going  to  do  about  it  ?  "  we  made  no 
reply. 

The  exclamation  mark  is  used  after  declarative  and 
imperative  sentences  expressing  strong  feeling,  com- 
monly after  interjections,  and  after  the  nominative  of 
address  when  strong  feeling  is  to  be  indicated  ;  as, 
John !  John !  What  a  mess  you  have  made !  Oh 
dear  !  What  shall  I  do  ? 

Never  place  together  a  question  mark  and  a  period, 
or  an  exclamation  mark  and  a  period.  Use  one  or 
the  other. 

Exercise  147.  Terminal  punctuation.  —  Put  proper 
marks  at  the  ends  of  the  following  sentences:  — 

1.  Breaking  through  that  white  streak  of  water  near  the 
shore  comes  a  dark  something,  which  soon  takes  form  and  is 
seen  to  be  a  steamer     What  a  variety  of  craft  haunt  the  lake 
The  largest  are  these  tall  steamers,  taller  still  for  their  red 
stacks      At  night,  with   their   colored  lights,  they  look  like 
jeweled  slippers 

2.  Let  us  think  over  this  passage  and  examine  its  words 
First,  is  it  not  singular  to  find  Milton  assigning  to  St.  Peter 
not  only  his  full  episcopal  function,  but  the  very  types  of  it 
which  Protestants  usually  refuse  most  passionately     His  "  mi- 
tred "  locks  Milton  was  no  bishop  lover ;  how  comes  St.  Peter 
to  be  "  mitred  " 

(b)  The  points  used  within  a  sentence  are  the 
comma  (,),  the  semicolon  (;),  the  colon  (:),  the  dash 
( — ) ;  quotation  marks  ("  "),  the  parentheses  [(  )]. 


234  APPENDIX  in 

The  comma  is  used  :  — 

1.  To  separate  the  nominative  of  address  from  the 
rest  of  the  sentence ;  as,  0  Cassius,  thou  art  yoked 
with  a  lamb. 

2.  To  mark  the  beginning  of  a  direct  quotation  (but 
see  also  the  rules  for  the  use  of  the  colon) ;  as,  The 
judge  said,  "  Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  what  is  your  ver- 
dict?"    If  the  quotation  is  not  a  question,  and  pre- 
cedes the  clause  on  which  it  depends,  it  is  followed 
by  a  comma  ;  as,  "  We  are  unable  to  agree,"  answered 
the  foreman.     If  the  clause  on  which  a  quotation  de- 
pends is  inserted  between  parts  of  the  quotation,  it  is 
cut  off  by  two  commas;    as,  "We   have,"  said  the 
foreman,  "been  unable  to  agree;  but,  if  your  Honor 
will  let  us  have  a  little  more  time,  we  may  be  able 
to  reach  a  conclusion." 

3.  To  separate  a  very  long  subject  from  its  verb ; 
as,  Whatever  you  may  wish  to  do  about  this  matter 
of  answering  his  letter,  will  be  agreeable  to  me.    Here 
the  subject  is  the  whole  clause,  and  not  letter  or  an- 
swering, as  might  be  carelessly  supposed.     In  general, 
however,  a  single  comma  is  not  to  be  used  between  the 
subject  and  the  verb. 

4.  To  cut  off,  at  its  beginning  and  at  its  end,  a 
parenthetical  or   explanatory  expression.      This   in- 
cludes :  — 

Thrown-in  words,  like  however,  to  be  brief,  finally, 
besides,  indeed,  in  fact,  moreover. 

Nouns  in  apposition,  especially  when  they  are  ac- 


PUNCTUATION  235 

companied  by  modifiers ;  as,  John  Brown,  the  leader 
of  the  attack,  was  executed. 

Relative  clauses,  when  they  are  not  restrictive  but 
coordinate ;  as,  John  Brown,  who  led  the  attack,  was 
executed. 

Adjective  and  adverbial  elements  when  they  are 
inserted  for  explanation  ;  as,  General  Wolfe,  wounded 
and  dying,  learned  of  his  great  victory.  That  story 
is,  in  several  particulars,  improbable. 

Adverbial  clauses,  when  inserted  for  explanation ; 
as,  He  determined  that,  if  the  chance  were  given 
him,  he  would  set  out  for  the  Philippines  at  once. 

5.  To  separate  words  in  series,  conjunctions  being 
omitted ;  as,  Poetry,  music,  painting,  and  sculpture 
are   not   the   only  fine   arts.      He  was  tall,   broad- 
shouldered,  muscular,  and  active. 

6.  To  separate  words  in  pairs,  for  the  same  rea- 
son ;  as,  The  flower  and  the  star,  the  pebble  and 
the   mountain,   the   raindrop   and   the   sea,   all   are 
the  work  of  His  hand. 

7.  To   separate   clauses   in   a   compound  sentence, 
when  they  are  related  in  meaning;  as,  The  rivulet 
becomes  a  brook,  and  the  brook  becomes  a  creek, 
and  the  creek  becomes  a  river. 

The  parentheses  are  used  to  inclose  a  remark  that 
might  be  omitted  without  destroying  the  sense  of  the 
sentence ;  as,  Know  then  this  truth  (enough  for  man 
to  know),  virtue  alone  is  happiness  below. 

It  is  a  fault  to  make  use  of  long  parentheses. 
They  interrupt  and  often  obscure  the  sense. 


236  APPENDIX  III 

The  quotation  marks  are  used  :  — 

1.  To  inclose  direct  quotations.     If  a  quotation  in- 
cludes another,  the  latter  is  inclosed  in  single  inverted 
commas,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  main  quotation, 
which  is  inclosed  in  the  double  inverted  commas ;  as, 
"  Aha!"  said  my  lord,  "I  go  on  the  principle  that  'a 
bird  in  the  hand  is  worth  two  in  the  bush.' ' 

2.  Sometimes  to  indicate  titles  of  books,  and  nick- 
names. 

The  dash  is  used  :  — 

1.  To  mark  an  abrupt  turn  in  a  sentence ;  as,  I 
will  tell  you  —  but  no !  why  should  I  not  keep  my 
own  counsel  ? 

2.  To  mark  a  significant   pause   that   should  be 
made  in  reading ;  as,  Now  you  listen  to  what  I  have 
to  say  —  I  will  never  give  you  what  you  demand  ! 

3.  To  mark  words  in  apposition,  or  other  paren- 
thetical expressions ;    as,  This  work  was  performed 
four  hundred  years  ago,  and  —  such  is  the  merit  of 
good  work  —  it  endures  to  this  day. 

As  a  rule,  it  is  better  usage  to  set  off  parenthetical 
expressions  by  commas,  than  to  set  them  off  by  dashes 
or  parentheses. 

Exercise  148.  Punctuation.  —  Which  of  the  above  rules 
for  the  use  of  commas,  etc.,  are  illustrated  in  the  fol- 
lowing sentences  9 

1.  There  were  the  first  editions  of  the  immortal  "Elia,"  he 
who  had  the  "  delightful  art  of  making  a  delightful  summer 
out  of  a  single  swallow." 


PUNCTUATION  237 

2.  Shakspere's  town  library  has  now  every  volume  except 
The  Merchant  of  Venice,  which  was,  for  some  reason,  never 
purchased. 

3.  Why  should  we  judge  him  by  his  words,  when  all  his 
works  are  there — a  whole  collection  of  them,  by  the  by,  is 
now  being  exhibited  in  Boston  —  to  prove  his  power  ? 

4.  The  studio  —  a  bare  barn  of  a  place,  outside  the  Porta 
del  Popolo  —  stood  on  a  slope  commanding  a  view  of  the  mon- 
astery in  which  Luther,  they  say,  dwelt,  when  he  was  planning 
his  defiance  of  the  Church. 

5.  The  food  was  bad,  the  meal  ill   served,  the   landlord 
(heaven  bless  him ! )  was  dirty,  but  what  a  talk  we  had  about 
work,  play,  books,  art,  life ! 

Exercise  149.  Punctuation.  —  Punctuate,  according  to 
the  rules  for  the  use  of  the  comma,  etc.,  the  following 
sentences:  — 

1.  Vedder  said  What  do  you  think  I  have  been  studying 
lately  fungi  I  showed  an  Italian  friend  some  drawings  which 
I  had  made  from  some  specimens  Why  bless  my  soul  said  he 
you  are  going  into  this  fungus  line  quite  seriously  are  you  not 

2.  Now  having  known  him  a  good  many  years  I  realized 
what  this  task  involved 

3.  Well  I  met  a  sort  of  second  cousin  there  Alice  Brooks 
I've  known  her  since  we  were  children 

4.  The  ashes  sighed  he  of  my  fondest  hopes 

5.  Ah  Mr  Lever  he  said  very  blandly  I  didn't  know  you 
were  in  England  in  fact  I  was  not  even  aware  of  your  having 
asked  for  leave 

The  semicolon  is  the  most  commonly  used  stop,  if 
we  except  the  comma  and  the  period.  The  semicolon 
is,  in  general,  used  when  the  comma  would  not  indi- 
cate so  distinct  a  pause  or  so  definite  a  division  as  is 


238  APPENDIX  III 

desired.  If  several  coordinate  clauses,  for  example, 
follow  one  another,  and  each  or  any  of  them  contains 
commas  for  minor  pauses,  the  semicolon  must  be 
used  to  separate  such  clauses ;  as,  "  Still  more  sur- 
prised were  they  to  learn  that,  in  order  to  have 
bread,  wheat  had  to  be  sown  in  the  ground ;  that 
grass  was  necessary  for  the  production  of  milk ;  and 
that  wine  did  not  flow  out  of  casks  on  a  turning  of  a 
key."  Examples  of  another  use  of  the  semicolon 
are  to  be  found  throughout  this  Appendix,  before 
the  word  "as",  when  this  is  followed- by  a  sentence 
given  for  illustration. 

The  colon  is  used  most  commonly  as  follows :  — 

1.  To  indicate  that  a  list,  enumeration,  or  state- 
ment is  to  follow ;  as,  "  The  following  are  the  princi- 
pal rules  for  punctuating  the  possessive  case  :  First," 
etc.      Under  this   rule    comes   the   use    of   a   colon 
before  a  direct  quotation,  when  the  quotation  is  to 
be   marked   as  especially  emphatic ;  as,  The  dealer 
then  uttered  these  words :  "  I  believe  you  have  been 
trying  to  cheat  me.     I  refuse  to  deal  with  you  at 
all." 

2.  In  a  long  complex  or  compound  sentence,  after 
groups  of  clauses,  or  sometimes  phrases,  when  the 
members  of  the  groups  are  separated  by  semicolons ; 
as,  If  the  man  walked  slowly,  the  lion  lessened  his 
pace ;    if  the  man    stopped,  the  beast  did  likewise : 
but  in  spite  of  this  seeming  imitation  of  the  man's 
movements,  the  lion  was  gradually  gaining. 


PUNCTUATION  239 

(c)  Miscellaneous  marks. 

(1)  The  apostrophe  (')  is  used  to  mark  the  omission 
of  a  letter  when  the  abbreviated  word  is  to  be  pro- 
nounced as  it  is  spelled ;  as,  don't,  o'clock,  o'er. 

The  apostrophe  is  a  necessary  part  of  all  nouns  in 
the  possessive  case,  singular  or  plural.  The  rules  for 
writing  the  possessive  case  are  as  follows  :  — 

1.  Nouns  in  the   singular  number   add  's  to  the 
nominative  form,  whether  the  nominative  ends  in  s  or 
not ;  as,  the  man's,  Charles's,  Dickens's,  Mr.  Jones's, 
mouse's. 

2.  In  the  plural,  if  the  nominative  plural  does  not 
end  in  s  or  the  sound  of  s,  the  apostrophe  and  s  are 
added  ;  as,  men's,  children's. 

But  if,  as  is  usual,  the  plural  already  ends  in  s. 
only  the  apostrophe  is  added ;  as,  girls'  hats,  the 
Joneses'  house. 

In  short,  to  form  the  possessive,  always  add  's, 
except  in  the  plural  when  the  nominative  plural  ends 
in  s. 

In  certain  expressions,  as,  for  goodness'  sake,  for 
conscience'  sake,  the  s  is  omitted  because  there  are 
already  two  s  sounds  present. 

The  pronouns  ours,  hers,  yours,  its,  theirs,  are  writ- 
ten without  any  apostrophe. 

(2)  The  hyphen  (-)  is  used  to  connect  the  parts  of 
a  compound  word,  as,  cathedral-tower ;  also  to  sepa- 
rate a  word  into  its  syllables.     This  usually  is  neces- 
sary only  at  the  end  of  a  line  where  there  is  room  for 
only  a  part  of  a  word.    A  word  of  one  syllable  should 


240  APPENDIX   III 

never  be  written  part  on  one  line  and  part  on  the 
next.  Words  of  more  than  one  syllable  should 
always  be  divided  between  syllables.  For  instance, 
to  write  alw-ays,  or  belie v-ed,  is  wrong.  In  general, 
divide  words  so  that  the  part  beginning  the  next  line 
shall  begin  with  a  consonant ;  as,  re-quired,  enumera- 
tion (not  -ation).  However,  to  divide  before  the 
syllable  -ing,  when  it  is  preceded  by  a  single  conso- 
nant, is  proper  ;  as,  follow-ing,  eat-ing. 

(3)  The  caret  (A)  is  used  to  mark  an  error  of  omis- 
sion in  one's  writing.     It  has  been  called  the  "  blunder 
mark." 

(4)  Marks  like  *  t  \  §  and  others  are  used  to  direct 
attention  to  a  note  in  the  margin  or  elsewhere. 

(5)  Underscoring  a  word    once    indicates   that   it 
should  be  printed  in  italics ;  twice,  in  small  capitals ; 
three  times  or  more,  in  large  capitals,  as  for  headings 
or  title  pages. 

II.    Use  of  capital  letters. 
Begin  with  capitals  :  — 

1.  The  first  word  of  every  sentence,  and  of  every 
line  of  poetry. 

2.  Every  proper  noun,  every  proper  adjective  (as 
French,  Latin),  every  personified  common  noun  (as, 
Then  Peace  shall  smile  upon  us). 

3.  Every  name  or   title  of   the  Deity,  pronouns 
pertaining  to  the  Deity  (this  rule  is  to  be  followed 
with  judgment ;  sometimes  the  repeated  use  of  capi- 


USE  OF   CAPITAL  LETTERS  241 

talized  pronouns  becomes  tiresome  and  annoying),  and 
names  of  religious  denominations. 

4.  The  names  of  the  days  of  the  week,  the  months 
of  the  year  (but  not  the  four  seasons  of  the  year, 
except  when  personified),  and  the  four  points  of  the 
compass  when  they  denote  great  regions  or  sections 
of  a  country ;  as,  He  journeyed  west  and  north  till  he 
had  traversed  the  region  called  the  great  Northwest. 

5.  The  important  words  in  the  title  of  a  book  or 
of  an  essay  or  of  a  poem. 

6.  Titles  of  honor  or  respect;  as,  The  Honorable 
Member  from  Ohio ;  the  Duke  of  Westminster ;  His 
Excellency,  the   Governor   of   North  Carolina ;   His 
Honor,  the  Mayor. 

7.  Words  to  be  particularly  emphasized,  such  as 
words  denoting  an  important  epoch  of  history ;  as, 
The  period  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War. 

8.  The  first  word  of   a  direct  quotation,  except 
when  only  a  word,  a  phrase,  or  a  clause  is  quoted  and 
made  a  part  of  the  writer's  own  sentence. 

9.  Write  with  capitals   the   pronoun   I   and   the 
interjections  0,  Oh. 

III.    Rules  for  spelling. 

1.  Final  e  silent  is  generally  omitted  before  a 
suffix  beginning  with  a  vowel ;  as,  write,  writ-ing ; 
please,  pleas-ing,  pleas-ure  ;  grieve,  griev-ance  ;  com- 
bine, combining;  change,  changing;  slice,  slicing. 
But  since  c  and  g  have  the  "  hard  "  sound  before  a, 
o,  and  u,  the  endings  ce  and  ge  must  be  retained 

WRIT.    IN    ENG.  16 


242  APPENDIX  III 

before  suffixes  ending  in  a,  o,  u.  Thus,  courageous, 
serviceable,  changeable.  The  word  singeing  retains 
the  e  to  distinguish  it  from  singing;  dyeing  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  dying.  Shoeing  and  agreeable  would 
be  apt  to  be  mispronounced  if  spelt  shoirig  and 
agreable. 

2.  Final  e  is  generally  retained  before  a  suffix  'be- 
ginning with  a  consonant ;   as,  pale,  paleness ;    dole, 
doleful.     (Exceptions  to  this  rule  are  judgment,  ac- 
knowledgment, wholly,  truly,  and  nursling.) 

3.  Words  ending  in  a  single  consonant  (preceded 
by  a  single  vowel)  double  the  final  letter  on  taking 
a  suffix  beginning  with  a  vowel,  if  the  words  are 
monosyllabic  or  accented  on  the  last  syllable.     Thus, 
begin,  beginning;  sit,  sitting;  underpinning,  repel- 
lent, befitting.     But  if  the  words  are  accented  on 
some  other  than  the  last  syllable,  or  if  the  conso- 
nant is  preceded  by  two  vowels,  the  consonant  is 
not  doubled ;  as,  trav'el-er,  viv'id-est,  offer-ing,  wor'- 
ship-er,  profit-ing,  fo'cusing,  bi'as-ed ;  retaining,  toil- 
ing, revealing. 

4.  Words   ending  in  a  double  consonant  usually 
retain  it  when  suffixes  are  added ;    as,  ebb,  ebbing ; 
will,  willful ;  shrill,  shrillness.      (But   note  the   ex- 
ceptions, —  almost,  altogether,  also,  although,  fulfill, 
belfry,  welfare.) 

5.  Words  ending  in  a  double  consonant  usually 
retain  it  when  prefixes  are  added ;  as,  farewell,  down- 
fall, respell,  undersell.     (Note  the  exceptions,  —  until, 
and  adjectives  ending  in  -ful.) 


SPELLING  243 

6.  Final  y,  if  preceded  by  a  consonant,  is  usually 
changed  to  i  when  a  suffix  is  added  which  begins 
with  a  vowel  (except    the    suffix  -ing] ;    as,  happy, 
happiest,  happiness ;  fly,  flies  ;  rely,  reliance  ;  accom- 
pany, accompaniment;    very,  verily;    duty,  dutiful. 
(Duteous,  beauteous,  and  plenteous  are  not  formed 
according  to  the  rule.) 

7.  Final  y,  preceded   by  a  vowel,  or  before   the 
suffix  -ing,  is  retained;  as,  valley,  valleys;  monkey, 
monkeys ;  spy,  spying ;  pity,  pitying. 


APPENDIX  IV 

VEESES  AND  VERSE  MAKING 

SOME  knowledge  of  versification  is  valuable  for 
two  reasons :  it  is  an  indispensable  aid  in  the 
appreciative  and  musical  reading  of  poetry,  and 
the  writing  of  verse  is  very  excellent  practice  in 
the  use  of  English.  Merely  for  the  skill  it  gives 
in  choice  and  manipulation  of  words  and  the  varied 
phrasing  of  sentences,  it  is  an  exercise  that  develops 
deftness,  command  of  diction,  and  a  nice  ear  for 
sound.  It  is  therefore  well  worth  while  for  a  student 
occasionally  to  try  his  hand  at  verse  making  —  tak- 
ing care  to  see  beforehand  that  he  has  something  to 
say,  and  that  he  has  a  good  model  to  follow  in  his 
versification. 

The  subject  of  prosody,  or  versification,  is  treated 
at  some  length  in  Maxwell's  Advanced  Lessons  in 
English  Grammar  (pp.  306-318)  and  in  most  books 
on  rhetoric.  It  includes  the  following  divisions  :  — 

1.  Meter,   or    measuring    of   lines    into   portions 
called  feet. 

2.  Rhyme,  the  agreement  of   the  final   syllables 
of  lines  in  sound  and  accent.     A  correct  rhyme  con- 
sists in  identity  of  accented  vowel  sounds,  followed 

244 


VERSIFICATION  245 

by  identical  consonant  sounds,  and  preceded  by  unlike 

consonant  sounds. 

Examples  of  correct  rhyming  :  — 

Battle,  rattle  ;  relate,  state  ;  range,  strange ;  alley,  valley  ; 
prodigious,  religious ;  importunate,  unfortunate. 

Examples  of  incorrect  or  imperfect  rhyming :  — 

(a)  Corresponding  syllables  not  accented  alike;  as,  prel'ate, 
relate';  tak'ing,  cling';  recline',  i'odine. 

(6)  Sounds  of  vowels  different ;  as,  door,  boor ;  care,  far ; 
river,  never ;  disdain,  amen ;  whistle,  rustle ;  element,  aliment. 

(c)  Vowels  followed  by  unlike  consonant  sounds ;  as,  cling- 
ing, singeing ;  wet,  red  ;  through,  cough. 

(d)  Vowels  preceded  by  like  consonant  sounds  ;  as,  scene, 
seen ;  restrain,  strain  ;  allay,  delay ;  persuasion,  dissuasion. 

3.  Stanza-form,  or  the  grouping  of  lines  into 
sets  of  a  fixed  number  of  lines,  with  a  certain  arrange- 
ment of  rhymes.  Examples  of  stanzas  are  the  coup- 
let, the  triplet,  the  ballad  stanza,  the  Spenserian 
stanza,  the  elegiac  stanza,  the  rondeau,  and  the 
sonnet.  Most  of  these  are  explained  or  exemplified 
later  in  this  Appendix. 

Of  the  above  three  divisions  the  first  is  the  only 
one  we  shall  consider  at  any  length. 

Meter.  —  Meter  means  measure.  Poetry,  like  music, 
is  divided  into  measures,  each  requiring  the  same 
amount  of  time.  You  can  therefore  beat  time  for 
verses  just  as  for  a  piece  of  music.  As  in  music  f  £ 
has  the  same  amount  of  time  as  £'  £  £  or  £  C  i,  so 
in  poetry,  three  syllables  may  fill  a  measure  having 


246 


APPENDIX  IV 


the  same  time  allowance  as  one  containing  only  two 
syllables.  For  example,  take  these  lines  from  Low- 
ell's Vision  of  Sir  Launfal  (the  syllables  that  have 
the  beat  are  marked  with  an  accent) : 

Down  swept  the  chill  wind  from  the  mountain  pea*ks, 
From  the  snow  five  thousand  summers  old. 

Each  of  these  lines  has  four  measures,  or  feet,  as 
they  are  called  ;  but  in  some  cases  there  are  three 
syllables  to  a  foot,  and  in  others  only  two.  If  we 
wished  to  represent  the  movement  of  these  lines  by 
musical  characters,  we  should  put :  — 

c    r 

r 


*  5  r 

c    r 


B  r 
B  r 


But  since  in  every  foot  there  is  one  syllable  given 
more  time  than  any  other,  the  long  syllables  are 
usually  represented  by  bars,  and  the  short  by  curves, 
thus :  — 


This  is  less  accurate  than  the  representation  by  musi- 
cal notes,  but  it  is  more  convenient. 

Sometimes  the  first  syllables  in  the  feet   are  the 
long  ones.     For  example  the  nursery  jingle  :  — 

Little  Jack  Hdrner  sat  in  a  cdrner, 
Ea*ting  his  Christmas  pie, 

has  a  movement  which  may  be  represented  thus :  — 


—  w 

—  \j 


VERSIFICATION  247 

Here  again  we  find  feet  of  three  syllables  given  the 
same  time  as  feet  of  two  syllables.  (Beat  time  as 
you  repeat  the  lines.  The  beat  should  fall  on  the 
long  syllables.) 

Kinds  of  feet.  —  The  different  kinds  of  feet  are 
named  according  to  the  number  of  syllables  they 
have,  and  the  position  of  the  accented  or  long 
syllables. 

Feet  of  two  syllables  are  either  —  ^  or  w  -  . 

Trochaic  feet  have  the  long  syllable  first,  as  in 
the  words  re'cent,  moth'er,  differ,  be'ing.  The  fol- 
lowing are  trochaic  lines  of  verse  :  — 

Tell  me  not  in  mournful  numbers, 

Life  is  but  an  empty  dream.  —  LONGFELLOW. 

Iambic  feet  have  the  long  syllable  second,  as  in 
the  words  combine',  return',  along',  intent'.  The  fol- 
lowing are  iambic  lines  of  verse  :  — 

You  all  did  see  that  on  the  Lupercal 

I  thrice  presented  him  a  kingly  crown.  —  SHAKSPERE. 


Feet  of  three  syllables  are  either  —  w  w  or  w  w  —  . 

Dactylic  feet  have  the  long  syllable  first,  as  in 
the  words,  syllable,  clat'tering,  cylinder,  cel'ebrate. 
The  following  are  dactylic  lines  of  verse  :  — 

Cannon  to  right  of  them, 

Cannon  to  left  of  them.  —  TENNYSON. 

Anapcestic  feet  have  the  long  syllable  last,  as  in  the 
words,  entertain',  interfere',  contradict',  undertake'. 
The  following  are  anapaestic  lines  of  verse  :  — 


248  APPENDIX  IV 

The  Assyrian  came  down  like  a  wolf  on  the  fold, 
And  his  cohorts  were  gleaming  with  purple  and  gold. 

—  BYRON. 

We  have  already  seen  in  scanning  (that  is,  mark- 
ing off  into  their  feet)  the  lines  beginning,  "  Down 
swept  the  chill  wind "  and  "  Little  Jack  Homer," 
that  iambic  and  anapcestic  feet  may  easily  be  used  in 
the  same  line,  because  they  have  the  long  syllable 
at  the  end  of  the  foot ;  and  that  trochaic  and  dactylic 
feet  may  be  used  in  the  same  line,  because  they  both 
begin  with  the  long  syllable.  In  either  case  it  is 
easy  to  read  two  short  syllables  in  the  time  of  one, 
just  as  in  music  two  sixteenth  notes  may  take  the 
place  of  one  eighth  note. 

For  the  sake,  then,  of  simplicity,  we  may  say  that 
there  are  only  two  types  of  movement  in  English 
verse:  the  iambic  (I  am',  I  am',  I  am',  etc.),  and  the 
trochaic  (tro'chee,  tro'chee,  etc.) ;  and  in  either  kind 
two  shorts  may  take  the  place  of  one,  forming,  in 
the  iambic  movement,  an  anapaestic  foot,  and,  in  the 
trochaic  movement,  a  dactylic  foot. 

Kinds  of  lines,  as  to  length. 

1.  Lines  of  one  foot  are  called  monometer  lines. 
Examples :  — 

Iambic.  —  Away.     (As  in  Herrick's  To  Daffodils.) 
Anapcestic.  —  On  a  throne.     (In  Tennyson's  Merman.) 
Trochaic  monometers  may  also  be  found,  but  lines  of  one 
foot  are  rare  in  any  measure. 


VERSIFICATION  249 

2.  Lines    of    two    feet    are   called   dimeter.     Ex- 
amples :  — 

Iambic.  —  The  year's  |  last  rose. 
Trochaic.  —  Ori|ana 

Anapaestic.  —  Of  the  mold|ering  flow'rs. 
Dactylic.  —  Take  her  up  |  tenderly. 

3.  Lines  of  three  feet  are  called  trimeter.     Ex- 
amples :  — 

Iambic.  —  And  I  |  desire  |  to  rest. 
Trochaic.  —  Neither  |  moon  nor  |  starlight. 
Anapaestic.  —  That  he  sings  |  in  his  boat  |  011  the  bay. 
Dactylic.  —  Chasing  each  |  other  so  |  merrily. 

4.  Lines  of  four  feet  are  called  tetrameter.     Ex- 
amples :  — 

Iambic. — A  sec|ond  voice  |  was  at  |  mine  ear. 

Trochaic.  —  Then  the  |  little  |  Hia|watha. 

Anapcestic. — Not  a  word  |  to  each  oth|er;     we  kept  |  the 

great  pace. 

Dactylic.  —  Brightest  and  |  best  of  the  |  sons  of  the  |  morn- 
ing. 

5.  Lines  of  five  feet  are  called  pentameter.     Ex- 
amples :  — 

Iambic.  —  And  built  |  herself  |  an  ev|erlast|ing  name.  (The 
iambic  pentameter  is  the  most  used  line  in  Eng- 
lish poetry.  It  is  sometimes  called  heroic  verse. 
As  we  have  seen,  anapaestic  feet  may  be  substi- 
tuted for  one  or  more  of  the  iambics  in  such  a 
line.) 

Trochaic  and  dactylic.  — Over  the  |  sea,  with  a  |  motion  |  slow 
and  ar |  rested. 


250  APPENDIX  IV 

6.  Lines  of   six  feet   are   called  hexameter.     Ex- 
amples :  — 

Iambic.  —  As  one  |  for  knight |ly  jousts  |  and  fierce  |  encoun- 
ters fit.  (The  iambic  hexameter  line  is  called 
an  Alexandrine.  See  the  dictionary.) 

Dactylic.  —  This  is  the  |  forest  pri|meval;  the  |  murmuring 
|  pines  and  the  |  hemlocks. 

7.  Lines  of  seven  feet  are  called  heptam'eter.     Ex- 
ample :  — 

Iambic.  —  John  Gil|pin  was  |  a  cit|izen  |  of  cred|it  and  |  re- 
nown. (Such  lines  are  frequently  divided  into 
two  lines,  one  tetrameter  and  the  other  trimeter.) 

8.  Lines  of  eight  feet  are  called  octom'eter.     Ex- 
ample :  — 

Trochaic.  —  For  the  |  mighty  |  wind  a|rises,  |  roaring  |  sea- 
ward, |  and  I  |  go.  (Octometers  are  rarely 
used,  about  the  same  effect  being  produced  by 
two  tetrameters.) 

Rests. —  As  there  are  rests  in  music  —  measures 
or  parts  of  measures  in  which  no  notes  are  sounded 
—  so  in  poetry  there  are  rests  or  pauses  in  the  meter, 
which  must  have  their  time  allowed,  even  though  no 
syllables  are  uttered.  In  the  following  scansions  the 
letter  r  is  used  to  mark  a  rest.  If  the  accent  or  beat 
falls  upon  a  rest  the  r  is  italicized.  The  test  of  the 
accuracy  of  the  scanning  of  a  line  is  whether  the 
syllables  marked  as  long,  or  represented  by  a  straight 


VERSIFICATION 


251 


line,  really  receive  the  stress  or  beat  of  the  measure. 
Beat  time  as  in  music  :  — 

(a)  Sweet  and  low,  sweet  and  low, 

Wind  of  the  western  sea  — 
Low,  low,  breathe  and  blow, 

Wind  of  the  western  sea !  —  TENNYSON. 

Trochaic  movement  (4  feet,  3  feet,  4  feet,  3  feet) :  — 


—  w 

—  w  w 


-00 


-(*) 


-(*) 


(6)  Break,  break,  break, 

On  thy  cold  gray  stones,  0  sea ! 
And  I  would  that  my  tongue  could  utter 

The  thoughts  that  arise  in  me.  —  TENNYSON. 

Iambic  movement  (3  feet,  3  feet,  4  feet,  3  feet) :  — 


(r) 


These  selections  also  well  illustrate  how  dactylic 
feet  may  be  used  in  the  trochaic  movement,  and  ana- 
paestic feet  in  the  iambic  movement. 

(c)  The  fine  emphatic  effect  of  the  rest  is  also 
shown  in  the  following  nursery  jingle,  especially  in 
the  third  line  after  "  who  "  :  — 

Ding,  dong,  bell, 

Pussy's  in  the  well ; 
Who  put  her  in  ? 


252 


APPENDIX  IV 


Trochaic  movement,  3  feet  to  a  line :  — 

-W     -(r)     -(r) 

-  (r)     -  o      -  (r) 

Run-on  lines.  —  It  frequently  happens  that  there  is 
an  extra  syllable  at  the  end  of  a  line.  In  such  a  case 
this  syllable  is  really  a  part  of  the  first  foot  of  the 
following  line. 

(a)   Thus  in  the  nursery  jingle,  — 

Old  Mother  Hubbard  went  to  the  cupboard 

To  get  her  poor  dog  a  bone  ; 
When  she  got  there,  the  cupboard  was  bare, 

And  so  the  poor  dog  had  none, 

we  have  an  iambic  movement,  beginning  with  a  rest, 
the  feet  running  4,  3,  4,  3  :  — 


oo- 


Here  the  extra  syllable  at  the  end  of  the  first  line 
clearly  goes  with  the  first  foot  of  the  following  line, 
making  the  foot  anapaestic.  Note  that  the  third  line 
has  no  extra  syllable  at  the  end. 

(b)  This  use  of  an  extra  end-syllable  is  common 
in  Shakspere's  later  and  better  versification.  For 
example,  we  have  Hamlet's  familiar  lines  :  — 

To  be,  or  not  ta  be,  that  is  the  question : 
Whether  'tis  nobler  in  the  mind  to  suffer 
The  slings  and  arrows  of  outrageous  fortune, 
Or  to  take  arms  against  a  sea  of  troubles, 
And,  by  opposing,  end  them.     To  die  ?     To  sleep. 


VERSIFICATION 


253 


Iambic  movement,  5  feet  to  a  line : 


Here  it  will  be  observed  that  though  the  move- 
ment is  iambic,  the  second,  fourth,  and  fifth  lines 
all  begin  with  long  or  stressed  syllables.  The  short 
syllables  to  fill  out  the  iambic  feet  in  these  cases  are 
found  as  extra  syllables  at  the  ends  of  the  preceding 
lines.  The  first  foot  in  the  third  line,  for  a  similar 
reason,  is  an  anapaestic  foot,  whose  syllables  are : 
-f er  the  slings,  w  w  — . 

There  are  illustrated  in  the  last  section  two  other 
points  frequently  exemplified  in  the  best  English 
poets. 

(1)  A  short  syllable  is  sometimes  accented  (6). 
Thus,  in  the  first  line  quoted,  the  word  "  that  "  in  the 
fourth  foot  is  given  the  beat,  as  the  natural  emphasis, 
depending  on  the  meaning  of  the  words,  requires 
"that"  to  be  accented.  But  the  regular  beat  in  the 
foot  falls  on  "  is."  Another  example  of  a  short  sylla- 
ble's being  accented  is  in  this  line  :  — 

Take  these  again,  for  to  the  noble  mind. 


(2)   The  regular  beat  in  a  line  may  fall  on  a  short 
syllable.     Such  a  syllable  may  be  represented  by  ^. 


254  APPENDIX  IV 

Thus,  the  word  "  of,"  in  the  third  line  quoted,  cannot 
be  read  as  a  long  syllable,  nor  does  it  receive  any 
emphasis.  But  it  stands  in  the  place  of  a  long  syl- 
lable, receiving  the  regular  beat.  In  such  a  case  give 
the  syllable  its  full  time  in  the  measure,  but  do  not 
in  the  least  emphasize  the  short  syllable,  even  though 
it  comes  in  the  place  of  a  long  syllable.  The  word 
"  to  "  in  the  line  last  quoted  is  an  example.  Another 
example  is  the  word  "  for  "  in  this  line  :  — 

How  does  your  honor  for  this  many  a  day  ? 

w  —       w  —   I  vy  ^£  I  w  —       ww  —    . 

Or  the  word  "  the  "  in  this  :  — 

Is  sicklied  o'er  with  the  pale  cast  of  thought. 


Exercise  150.  Scanning.  —  Mark  off  in  measures  the 
syllables  (and  the  rests,  if  any)  in  the  following  pieces  of 
verse;  also  note  the  arrangement  of  the  rhyming  lines. 

1.   The  curfew  tolls  the  knell  of  parting  day, 

The  lowing  herd  winds  slowly  o'er  the  lea, 
The  plowman  homeward  plods  his  weary  way, 
And  leaves  the  world  to  darkness  and  to  me. 

(This  is  the  opening  stanza  of  Gray's  Elegy  Written  in  a 
Country  Churchyard.  This  form  of  stanza  is  often  called  the 
elegiac  stanza.) 

2.   And  what  is  so  rare  as  a  day  in  June  ? 
Then,  if  ever,  come  perfect  days  ; 
Then  heaven  tries  the  earth,  if  it  be  in  tune, 
And  over  it  softly  her  warm  ear  lays. 

—  From  LOWELL'S  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal. 


VERSIFICATION  255 

3.  There  was  a  time  when  meadow,  grove,  and  stream, 
The  earth,  and  every  common  sight 

To  me  did  seem 
Appareled  in  celestial  light, 
The  glory  and  the  freshness  of  a  dream. 
It  is  not  now  as  it  hath  been  of  yore ; 
Turn  wheresoe'er  I  may, 
By  night  or  day, 

The  things  which  I  have  seen  I  now  can  see  no  more. 
—  From  WORDSWORTH'S  Ode  on  Immortality. 

(An  ode  is  a  form  of  poem  in  which  there  is  permitted  much 
variety  in  length  of  lines  and  arrangement  of  rhymes.) 

4.   Lives  of  great  men  all  remind  us 

We  can  make  our  lives  sublime, 
And,  departing,  leave  behind  us 

Footprints  on  the  sands  of  time.  —  LONGFELLOW. 

6.   I  had  a  little  pony,  his  name  was  Dapple  Gray ; 
I  lent  him  to  a  lady,  to  ride  a  mile  away. 
She  whipped  him,  she  slashed  him,  and  rode  him  through 

the  mire : 
I  would  not  lend  my  pony  now  for  all  the  lady's  hire. 

—  MOTHER  GOOSE. 

6.   Little  Tommy  Tittlemouse 
Lived  in  a  little  house. 
He  caught  fishes 
In  other  men's  ditches.  —  MOTHER  GOOSE. 

7.   Sweet  are  the  uses  of  adversity 

Which,  like  the  toad,  ugly  and  venomous, 
Wears  yet  a  precious  jewel  in  his  head ; 
And  this  our  life,  exempt  from  public  haunt, 
Finds  tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  running  brooks, 
Sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  everything ! 

—  From  SHAKSPERE'S  As  You  Like  It. 

(Verse  that  does  not  rhyme  is  called  blank  verse.) 


256  APPENDIX  IV 

8.   There  is  a  pleasure  in  the  pathless  woods, 
There  is  a  rapture  on  the  lonely  shore, 
There  is  society  where  none  intrudes, 
By  the  deep  sea,  and  music  in  its  roar ; 
I  love  not  man  the  less,  but  nature  more, 
From  these  our  interviews,  in  which  I  steal 
From  all  I  may  be,  or  have  been  before, 
To  mingle  with  the  universe,  and  feel 
What  I  can  ne'er  express,  yet  cannot  all  conceal. 
—  From  BYRON'S  Cliilde  Harold. 

(This  stanza  is  an  example  of  the  Spenserian  stanza,  so 
called  because  it  is  that  used  in  Edmund  Spenser's  great  alle- 
gorical poem,  The  Faerie  Queene.  Note  the  arrangement  of 
the  rhymes,  and  the  closing  of  the  stanza  with  an  Alexandrine, 
or  six-foot  line.) 

Verse  writing.  —  Most  verses  are  simple  and  regular 
in  movement  and  scansion,  and  as  mere  verses  not 
hard  to  write.  The  easiest  forms  for  the  beginner 
to  attempt  are  the  following  :  — 

(1)  The  couplet  (two  rhyming  lines,  each  containing 
five  feet,  or  each  containing  four  feet).  Examples :  — 

Pentameter  couplets,  iambic :  — 

But  most  by  numbers  judge  a  poet's  song, 

And  smooth  or  rough,  with  them,  is  right  or  wrong. 

—POPE. 

Sir  knight,  though  I  have  asked  thy  life,  yet  still 
Thy  destiny  depends  upon  my  will.  —  CHAUCER. 

Tetrameter  couplets,  iambic :  — 

Disdains  against  its  will  to  stay, 

And  struggles  out,  and  flies  away.  —  BUTLER. 


VERSIFICATION  257 

Beneath  her  torn  hat  glowed  the  wealth 

Of  simple  beauty  and  rustic  health.  —  WHITTIEB. 

The  train  from  out  the  castle  drew, 

But  Marmion  stopped  to  bid  adieu.  —  SCOTT. 

Tetrameter  couplet,  trochaic :  — 
Come,  and  trip  it  as  you  go, 
On  the  light  fantastic  toe.  —  MILTON. 

Exercise  151.  Writing  in  couplets.  —  The  couplet  being 
well  adapted  to  descriptive  and  narrative  verse,  write  the 
following  jingles  and  verses  in  couplets. 

1.  Complete  the  following  nonsense  couplets  (tetrameter) : — 

Ten  little  kittens,  ready  to  dine, 

One  choked  on  a  bone,  and  then  there  were  nine. 

Nine  little  kittens 

eight,  etc. 

2.  Complete  this  alphabet  jingle :  — 

A  is  an  archer,  steady  and  brave, 
B  is  a  barber,  ready  to  shave, 
C  is  a  cormorant,  greedy  and  strong, 
D  is  a  doctor  whose  bill  is  as  long. 

3.  Write  in  four-foot  couplets  of  trochaic  movement,  includ- 
ing dactylic  feet  if  necessary,  a  comic  anecdote,  found  in  some 
book  or  newspaper,  or  any  of  the  stories  found  on  page  107. 

4.  Write  in  five-foot  couplets  of  iambic  movement  an  ac- 
count of  a  picnic  or  an  excursion.     (If  preferred,  the  iambic 
tetrameter  couplet  may  be  used,  with  anapaestic  feet,  intro- 
duced as  desired.) 

(2)  The  ballad  stanzas  of  four  lines  are  easy  to 
write  and  pleasant  to  read.  They  are  suited  for 
lively  narration  and  description.  Examples  :  — 

WRIT.    IN    ENG.  —  17 


258  APPENDIX   IV 

Iambic,  4,  3,  4,  3,  rhyming  second  and  fourth  lines :  — 
About,  about,  in  reel  and  rout 

The  death  fires  danced  at  night ; 
The  water,  like  a  witch's  oils, 

Burnt  green,  and  blue,  and  white.  —  COLERIDGE. 

Iambic,  4,  4,  4,  4,  rhyming  second  and  fourth  lines :  — 
He  was  no  sooner  over  the  river, 

Down  in  the  forest  to  take  the  air, 
But  eighty  merchants  of  London  city 
Came  kneeling  before  King  Henry  there. 

—  OLD  BALLAD. 

Exercise  152.  Writing  of  ballad  verse. — Put  into 
ballad  verse  the  following  little  story:  — 

The  town  rat  and  the  country  rat.  —  A  town  rat  politely 
invited  a  country  rat  to  dinner.  They  were  to  have  some  ripe 
old  cheese  and  a  well-cooked  quail.  The  feast  at  last  was 
spread  out  in  a  cozy  corner,  and  merrily  they  set  to  eating ; 
but  hardly  had  they  well  begun,  when  a  sudden  racket  at  the 
door  alarmed  them,  and  they  both  scampered  away  as  fast  as 
they  could.  When  the  noise  was  over  they  returned :  "  Come," 
said  the  city  rat,  "let  us  finish  our  meal."  —  "Not  a  nibble 
more  for  me,"  said  the  rustic  rat.  "  You  come  dine  with  me 
to-morrow,  where  all  is  quiet  and  safe.  I  am  not  envious  of 
your  life,  for  I  have  no  love  for  pleasure  when  it  is  mixed 
with  fear." 

Exercise  153.  Verse  writing.  —  (a)  Put  into  ballad 
stanzas  of  either  of  the  types  mentioned  above,  the  story 
of  some  book  or  tale  you  have  recently  read. 

(6)  Write  jingles  or  verses  in  other  stanza-forms,  such 
as  are  exemplified  in  this  Appendix  or  may  be  found 
elsewhere.  These  may  be  nonsense  verses,  or  versified 
anecdotes,  real  or  imaginary.  Do  not  attempt  any  seri- 
ous verse  for  some  years  to  come  (if  ever}. 


APPENDIX   V 

NOTES   ON   AUTHORS    REFERRED   TO   OR   QUOTED 
IN   THIS   BOOK 

Joseph  Addison,  famous  English  writer  of  essays  (and  a  few 
poems).  18th  c.  (1672-1719).  The  Spectator  Papers 
(1711-1714). 

Louisa  M.  Alcott,  American  story  writer.  Daughter  of  Bron- 
soii  Alcott,  a  friend  of  Emerson.  19th  c.  (1831-1888). 
Little  Women  (18(57). 

James  Lane  Allen,  American  novelist  (1849—  ).  The 
Choir  Invisible. 

Francis  Bacon,  great  English  lawyer,  statesman,  philosopher, 
and  essayist.  17th  c.  (1561-1626).  Novum  Organum,  in 
Latin,  1620  ;  Essays,  in  English  (1597-1625). 

Ballads,  old  narrative  poems  by  unknown  bards.  Some  manu- 
scripts date  back  to  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centu- 
ries. A  good  convenient  and  interesting  collection  of  them 
has  been  prepared  by  Professor  F.  B.  Gummere,  and  pub- 
lished by  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston.  The  standard  collection  is 
that  of  Professor  Child,  10  vols.,  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co. 

George  Bancroft,  American  historian.  19th  c.  (1800-1891). 
History  of  the  United  States,  12  vols.  (1854-1882). 

William  Black,  English  novelist  (1841-1898).  A  Princess 
of  Thule,  Madcap  Violet,  etc. 

R.  D.  Blackmore,  English  novelist.  19th  c.  (1825-1900). 
Lorna  Doone. 

James  Boswell,  famous  for  his  Life  of  Samuel  Johnson.  18th  c. 
(1740-1795). 


260  APPENDIX  V 

Charles  Brockden  Brown,  the  earliest  American  novelist.  Late 
18th  c.  (1771-1810).  Wieland  (1798);  Arthur  Mervyn 
(1800). 

Eobert  Browning,  great  English  poet.  19th  c.  (1812-1890). 
Plays,  for  example,  A  Blot  in  the  'Scutcheon ;  Colombe's 
Birthday ;  Pippa  Passes.  Long  poems :  The  Eing  and  the 
Book ;  Bordello.  Many  much-loved  short  poems. 

John  Bunyan,  English  writer,  famous  for  his  Pilgrim's  Progress. 
17th  c.  (1628-1688). 

Edmund  Burke,  great  Irish  orator  and  writer.  18th  c.  (1730- 
1797).  Speech  on  Conciliation  with  the  American  Colo- 
nies (1774) ;  Inquiry  into  the  Sublime  and  Beautiful 
(1756). 

Lord  Byron,  English  poet.  Early  19th  c.  (1788-1824).  Trage- 
dies. Narrative  and  descriptive  poems :  Childe  Harold ;' 
The  Prisoner  of  Chillon.  Lyric  poems. 

Thomas  Campbell,  Scottish  poet.  Early  19th  c.  (1777-1844). 
The  Pleasures  of  Hope  (1798),  and  narrative  poems. 

Cervantes,  famous  Spanish  novelist.  16th  c.  (1547-1616).  Don 
Quixote. 

Geoffrey  Chaucer,  the  first  great  English  poet.  14th  c.  (1340- 
1400).  The  Canterbury  Tales ;  The  Flower  and  the  Leaf ; 
The  House  of  Fame. 

Samuel  T.  Coleridge,  English  poet  and  reflective  writer.  Early 
19th  c.  (1772-1834).  The  Ancient  Mariner  (1798)  ;  several 
other  fine  poems ;  many  prose  works. 

James  Fenimore  Cooper,  American  romance  writer.  19th  c. 
(1789-1851).  Sea  Tales :  The  Ked  Rover,  etc.  Indian 
Tales  :  The  Pathfinder ;  The  Last  of  the  Mohicans,  etc. 

William  Cowper,  English  poet.  18th  c.  (1731-1800).  Most  of 
his  poems  didactic.  John  Gilpin  (1785)  not  in  his  usual 
manner. 

Richard  Henry  Dana,  Jr.,  American  writer.  19th  c.  (1815- 
1882).  Two  Years  before  the  Mast. 

Charles  Darwin,  English  scientist,  one  of  the  originators  of  the 
theory  of  evolution.  19th  c.  (1809-1882).  The  Origin 


NOTES  ON  AUTHORS  261 

of  Species  (1859);  The  Descent  of  Man;  Movements  of 
Plants;  etc. 

Richard  Harding  Davis,  American  story  writer  (1864-  ). 
Van  Bibber  and  Other  Stories. 

Leonardo  da  Vinci,  great  Italian  painter,  architect,  and  scien- 
tist. 15th  c.  (1452-1519). 

Daniel  Defoe,  English  imaginative  writer.  Early  18th  c.  (1661- 
1731).  Journal  of  the  Plague;  Robinson  Crusoe  (1719). 

Thomas  Dekker,  minor  dramatist  of  Shakspere's  time.  Early 
17th  c.  (1570-1637?). 

Charles  Dickens,  one  of  the  most  popular  of  English  novelists. 
19th  c.  (1812-1870).  Pickwick  Papers  (1837);  Nicholas 
Nickleby ;  Oliver  Twist ;  Old  Curiosity  Shop  ;  Dombey  and 
Son;  David  Copperfield ;  Bleak  House;  Christmas  Stories. 

Edward  Eggleston,  American  story  writer  and  historian  (1837- 
).  The  Circuit  Rider;  The  Hoosier  Schoolmaster; 
A  History  of  the  United  States. 

"  George  Eliot "  (Mary  Ann  Evans,  Mrs.  Lewes,  Mrs.  Cross), 
the  greatest  English  woman  novelist.  19th  c.  (1819-1880). 
Scenes  of  Clerical  Life ;  Adam  Bede  (1859) ;  The  Mill  on 
the  Floss;  Silas  Marner  (1861);  Romola;  Felix  Holt; 
Middlemarch ;  Daniel  Deronda  (1876) ;  also  essays  and 
poems.  The  standard  biography  of  George  Eliot  is  by  her 
husband,  J.  W.  Cross. 

Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  American  reflective  writer  and  poet. 
19th  c.  (1803-1882).  Nature  (1836).  Essays  (1841-1844) ; 
Representative  Men;  English  Traits;  Conduct  of  Life. 
Poems:  Concord  Hymn;  Woodnotes;  May  Day;  The 
Problem. 

Canon  F.  W.  Farrar,  English  divine,  and  author  of  several  theo- 
logical and  historical  works  (1831-  ). 

Hamlin  Garland,  American  story  writer  (1860-  ).  (Subjects 
mostly  western.)  Main  Traveled  Roads. 

Oliver  Goldsmith,  English  writer  of  poems,  prose,  and  plays. 
18th  c.  (1728-1774).  The  Deserted  Village;  The  Trav- 
eler: The  Vicar  of  Wakefield;  She  Stoops  to  Conquer. 


262  APPENDIX  V 

Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  greatest  American  romance  writer. 
19th  c.  (1804-1864).  Twice-Told  Tales  (1837) ;  The  Scar- 
let Letter  (1850)  ;  Mosses  from  an  Old  Manse ;  The  House 
of  the  Seven  Gables;  The  Blithedale  Romance;  Wonder 
Book  for  Boys  and  Girls;  American  Note  Book;  The 
Marble  Faun. 

William  Hazlitt,  English  essayist  and  critic.  Early  19th  c. 
(1778-1830). 

Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  American  essayist,  novelist,  and  poet. 
19th  c.  (1809-1894).  The  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table 
(1858)  ;  The  Professor  at  the  Breakfast  Table ;  The  Poet 
at  the  Breakfast  Table ;  Over  the  Teacups ;  One  Hundred 
Days  in  Europe.  Novels:  Elsie  Vernier;  The  Guardian 
Angel.  Among  his  poems:  The  Chambered  Nautilus; 
Old  Ironsides ;  The  One  Hoss  Shay. 

Victor  Hugo,  great  French  romance  writer  and  poet.  19th  c. 
(1802-1885).  Les  Miserables ;  Ninety-Three. 

Washington  Irving,  perhaps  the  most  classical  of  American 
writers.  19th  c.  (1783-1859).  Knickerbocker's  History  of 
New  York  (1809)  ;  The  Sketch  Book  ;  Bracebridge  Hall ; 
Tales  of  a  Traveler;  The  Conquest  of  Granada;  The 
Alhambra;  Lives  of  Columbus,  Mahomet,  Goldsmith,  and 
(1855)  Washington. 

G.  P.  R.  James,  English  novelist.     19th  c.  (1801-1860). 

Samuel  Johnson,  a  great  literary  man  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury in  England  (1709-1784).  Poems  ;  English  Dictionary 
(1755);  Rasselas  (a  tale);  Tour  of  the  Hebrides;  The 
Eambler,  The  Idler  (periodical  essays) ;  Lives  of  the  Poets. 

Rudyard  Kipling,  English  poet  and  story  writer  (1865-  ). 
Plain  Tales  from  the  Hills  (stories  of  life  in  India) ; 
The  Phantom  'Rickshaw,  and  Other  Tales;  The  Day's 
Work;  Barrack  Room  Ballads  and  Other  Poems;  The 
Seven  Seas. 

Charles  Lamb,  one  of  the  most  gentle  and  delightful  of  English 
essayists.  19th  c.  (1775-1834).  Essays  of  Elia.  With  his 
sister  Mary  he  wrote  Tales  from  Shakspere. 


NOTES  ON   AUTHORS  263 

Henry  W.  Longfellow,  the  most  popular  of  American  poets, 
19th  c.  (1807-1882).  Two  or  three  prose  romances;  Evan- 
geline  (1847)  ;  Golden  Legend ;  Song  of  Hiawatha  (1855)  ; 
Courtship  of  Miles  Standish;  Tales  of  a  Wayside  Inn; 
Birds  of  Passage ;  many  favorite  short  poems ;  Transla- 
tion of  Dante's  Divina  Comrnedia  (1867). 

James  Kussell  Lowell,  prominent  American  essayist,  critic, 
and  poet.  19th  c.  (1819-1891).  Prose:  Among  my 
Books;  My  Study  Windows;  Fireside  Travels;  political 
and  literary  essays  and  addresses.  Poems :  The  Biglow 
Papers  (1848  and  1866);  The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal, 
(1848) ;  Commemoration  Ode  (1865)  ;  Under  the  Willows ; 
The  Cathedral  (1869).  Some  excellent  short  poems. 

Thomas  Babington  Macaulay,  famous  English  essayist,  histo- 
rian, and  poet.  19th  c.  (1800-1859).  Historical  and  lit- 
erary essays ;  History  of  England,  five  vols. ;  Lays  of 
Ancient  Rome,  and  other  poems. 

John  Milton,  one  of  the  greatest  of  English  poets  and  prose 
writers.  17th  c.  (1608-1674).  I.  Early  Poems:  Hymn 
on  the  Nativity;  Com  us;  Lycidas ;  L' Allegro;  II  Pense- 
roso.  II.  Prose  works  :  Of  Eeformation  ;  Of  Education  ; 
On  Divorce ;  Defense  of  the  English  People ;  Areopa- 
gitica.  III.  Later  poems:  Paradise  Lost;  Paradise  Ee- 
gained ;  Samson  Agonistes  ;  Sonnets. 

Donald  Grant  Mitchell  ("  Ik  Marvel "),  an  American  imagina- 
tive writer  and  essayist  (1822-  ).  Reveries  of  a 
Bachelor;  Dream  Life;  English  Lands  and  Letters; 
American  Lands  and  Letters. 

Agnes  Repplier,  an  American  essayist  (1855-  ).  Varia,  and 
other  volumes  of  brief  critical  essays. 

Dante  Gabriel  Eossetti,  English  painter  and  poet.  19th  c. 
(1828-1882).  Poems  (1871),  including  The  Blessed  Darno- 
zel,  Sister  Helen,  etc. ;  The  Early  Italian  Poets  (1873). 
His  life  and  letters,  edited  by  his  brother,  Wm.  M.  Eos- 
setti,  appeared  in  1895. 

John  Euskin,  eloquent  and  influential  writer  (English)  on  art, 


264  APPENDIX  V 

ethics,  and  social  economy  (1819-1900).  His  works,  col- 
lected in  thirteen  volumes,  include  Modern  Painters,  1843- 
1860 ;  Stones  of  Venice ;  Seven  Lamps  of  Architecture ; 
Ethics  of  the  Dust ;  Sesame  and  Lilies ;  Time  and  Tide ; 
Fors  Clavigera ;  etc. 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  one  of  the  greatest  of  novelists,  and  a  poet. 
Early  19th  c.  (1771-1832).  The  Waverley  Novels,  mostly 
historical,  including  Waverley,  The  Monastery,  The  Abbot, 
Ivanhoe,  Kenilworth,  Quentin  Durward,  The  Heart  of 
Midlothian,  Guy  Mannering,  The  Bride  of  Lammermoor, 
and  others  almost  as  well  known.  His  poems  include  The 
Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel  (1805),  The  Lady  of  the  Lake 
(1810),  and  Marmion. 

William  Shakspere,  the  greatest  of  dramatic  poets.  Late 
16th  and  early  17th  c.  (1564-1616).  His  plays  are: 
(a)  Historical:  Henry  IV,  Henry  V,  Richard  III,  Richard 
II.,  King  John.  (6)  Legendary :  Hamlet,  Lear,  Macbeth, 
Caesar,  Antony  and  Cleopatra,  Cymbeline.  (c)  Fictitious : 
Merchant  of  Venice,  Midsummer  Night's  Dream,  As  You 
Like  It,  All's  Well  that  Ends  Well,  Much  Ado  about 
Nothing,  Othello,  Winter's  Tale,  Tempest.  Shakspere  also 
wrote  154  sonnets  and  several  other  poems. 

Robert  Southey,  English  poet  (laureate  next  before  Words- 
worth). 19th  c.  (1774-1843).  His  (prose)  Life  of  Nelson 
is  admirable. 

Laurence  Sterne,  English  novelist  and  preacher.  18th  c. 
(1713-1768).  A  Sentimental  Journey ;  Tristram  Shandy  ; 
Sermons. 

Robert  Louis  Stevenson,  one  of  the  most  admired  of  recent 
English  writers  of  fiction  (1850-1894).  Dr.  Jekyll  and 
Mr.  Hyde ;  The  Master  of  Ballantrae ;  David  Balfour ; 
Treasure  Island ;  The  New  Arabian  Nights.  Will  of  the 
Mill ;  and  other  short  stories.  Essays :  Familiar  Studies 
of  Men  and  Books ;  Virginibus  Puerisque  ;  Sketches  and 
Criticisms.  Note-books:  An  Inland  Voyage;  Travels 
with  a  Donkey.  Poems :  A  Child's  Garden  of  Verses. 


NOTES  ON    AUTHORS  265 

Bayard  Taylor,  American  writer  of  travels,  poems,  and  novels. 
19th  c.  (182S-1878).  The  Land  of  the  Saracens;  Views 
Afoot ;  Boys  of  Other  Countries ;  Byways  of  Europe ; 
Translation  of  "  Faust " ;  Prince  Deucalion ;  Poems  of  the 
Orient.  Novels :  Hannah  Thurston ;  Story  of  Kennet. 

Jeremy  Taylor,  English  divine.  17th  c.  (1713-1767).  Ser- 
mons ;  Holy  Living ;  Holy  Dying. 

Alfred  Tennyson,  the  most  popular  and  one  of  the  greatest  of 
modem  English  poets.  19th  c.  (1809-1892).  Longer 
poems:  In  Memoriam  ;  Idyls  of  the  King;  The  Princess; 
Maud ;  Enoch  Arden.  Dramas  :  Queen  Mary ;  Harold ; 
Becket.  Many  beautiful  shorter  poems. 

Henry  D.  Thoreau,  American  naturalist  and  essayist.  19th  c. 
(1817-1862).  A  Week  on  the  Concord  and  Merrimac 
Eivers;  Walden;  The  Maine  Woods;  Cape  Cod;  Sum- 
mer; Winter. 

Mrs.  Humphry  Ward,  noted  English  woman  novelist  (1851- 
).  Robert  Elsmere  ;  David  Grieve ;  Marcella ;  The 
Story  of  Bessie  Costrell. 

Daniel  Webster,  the  greatest  American  orator.  19th  c.  (1782- 
1852).  Eulogy  on  Adams  and  Jefferson ;  Bunker  Hill 
Orations ;  Speech  in  Reply  to  Hayiie  (1829) ;  Speech  on 
the  Murder  of  Captain  White. 

Walt  Whitman,  regarded  by  some  as  one  of  the  greatest  of 
American  poets  and  writers  of  prose.  19th  c.  (1819-1892). 
Poems  all  included  under  the  title,  Leaves  of  Grass.  His 
prose  includes :  Collect ;  Democratic  Vistas  ;  Specimen 
Days  in  America;  The  Wound  Dresser. 

John  Greenleaf  Whittier,  a  well-known  American  writer  of 
ballads  and  other  poems.  19th  c.  (1807-1892).  Maud 
Muller  ;  The  Barefoot  Boy ;  Barbara  Frietchie  ;  Snow- 
bound ;  Among  the  Hills.  Many  favorite  short  poems. 

Kate  Douglas  Wiggin  (Mrs.  Kiggs),  American  writer  of  juvenile 
stories  and  other  books  (1857-  ).  The  Birds'  Christ- 
mas Carol;  The  Story  of  Patsy;  Children's  Eights;  A 
Cathedral  Courtship ;  A  Summer  in  Southern  California. 


INDEX 


Accent  In  verse,  246,  248. 

Accuracy  in  use  of  words,  188-191, 199- 

203. 

Adjectives,  suggestive  use  of,  203-205. 
Allegory,  185. 
Alliteration,  185. 
Anapaestic  feet,  247. 
"  And  "  habit,  54-56. 
"  And  which,"  192. 
Antithesis,  151. 
Apostrophe,  uses  of,  239. 
Argument,  defined,  13,  16. 

lists  of  subjects,  16. 

general  treatment,  209-215. 
Arrangement,  grammatical,  149,  197. 

for  clearness,  117-120. 

for  emphasis,  149-155. 
Article,  omission  of,  114. 
Authors,  notes  on,  259-266. 

Balance  in  sentences,  151, 152. 

Ballad  stanzas,  257. 

Blank  verse,  255. 

Briefs  in  argument,  212-214. 

Business  letters,  170-174. 

Capitals,  rules  for,  240,  241. 
Cases  of  pronouns,  194,  195. 
Change  of  subject,  faulty,  56. 
Characters  in  narratives,  102. 
Chaucer,  222. 
Choice  of  subjects,  111. 
Choice  of  words,  for  accuracy,  188-191, 
198-203. 

for  emphasis,  156-159. 

for  suggestion,  203-205. 
Clauses,  76. 
Clearness,  111-120. 
Climax.  153. 
Colon,  uses  of,  238. 


Colors  in  description,  65. 
Comma,  uses  of,  234,  235. 
Comparisons,  in  description,  62,  63. 

and  contrasts  in  paragraphs,  128- 

132. 
Completeness,  in  compositions,  18. 

in  paragraphs,  40. 

in  sentences,  57, 113-115,  197, 198. 
Complex  sentences,  79,  81,  84-88. 
Composition,  purpose  of,  9-11. 

kinds,  12-16. 

general  principles  of,  18. 
Composition  books,  11,  36. 
Compound  sentences,  80-83. 
Conjunctions,  kinds,  85. 

with  relatives,  192. 
Contents  of  descriptions,  17-20,  25. 

of  expositions,  207. 

of  paragraphs, 121-142. 
Correctness,  in  diction,  187, 188. 

in  syntax,  57,  113,  192-198. 
Couplets  in  verse,  256. 
Creasy,  63. 

Criticism,  of  a  composition,  36,  176, 
215. 

scheme  of  marks  for,  217-220. 

Dactylic  feet,  247. 
Dash,  uses  of,  236. 
Debate,  209-215. 

Denying  the  opposite  in  sentences,  157, 
158. 

in  argument,  209,  210. 
Description,  defined,  12,  15. 

general  treatment,  17-36,  60-74. 

lists  of  subjects,  15. 
Details,  in  description,  24,  25,  60. 

or  particulars  in  paragraphs,  122- 

124. 
Direct  narration,  147, 148,  166. 


267 


268 


INDEX 


Effects,  statement  of,  in  description, 
64. 

or  results,  in  paragraphs,  132-134. 
Elegiac  stanza,  254. 
Elements  of  sentences,  75-77. 
Emphasis,  143-161. 
English   language,   brief  history  of, 

221-229. 
Evangeline,  91. 

Exclamatory  sentences,  145,  146,  161. 
Expositions,  defined,  13,  16. 

lists  of  subjects,  16. 

general  treatment,  206-208. 

Feet,  kinds  of,  in  poetry,  247,  248. 
Figures  of  speech,  177-186. 
Formal  notes,  163. 
Franklin,  99. 

French  element  in  English  speech,  221- 
223,  226. 

Glance  in  description,  24,  25. 
Grammatical  agreement,  of  verbs,  195. 

of  pronouns,  194. 

Greek   element   in    English,   222-225, 
229. 

Headings,  in  letters,  165. 

Homer,  64. 

Hugo,  62. 

Hyphen,  uses  of,  239. 

Iambic  feet,  247. 

Iambic  movement,  248. 

Imitation,  23,  etc. 

Indention,  37,  41. 

Indirect  and  direct  narration,  147,  148, 

160. 

Infinitive,  splitting  of,  197. 
Informal  notes  and  letters,  164-169. 
Instances  or  examples  in  paragraphs, 

125-127. 

Interestingness,  10,  101-103. 
Interrogation,  144-146,  161. 
Introduction  in  description,  25. 
Inversion,  149,  150. 

John  Gilpin's  Ride,  93. 

Latin  elements  in  English,  222,  226, 

228. 
Letters,  parts  of,  165-168. 


Letter  writing,  162-176. 

Lincoln,  92. 

Lines  in  verse,  kinds  of,  248-250. 

Longfellow,  91,  93. 

Loose  sentences,  154. 

Merchant  of  Venice,  93. 
Metaphor,  181-183. 
Meter,  244-248. 
Metonymy,  184. 
Milton,  91. 

Narration,  defined,  12, 15. 
lists  of  subjects,  15. 
general  treatment,  90-110. 
use  of  "  direct  narration,"  147, 148, 
160. 

Omissions  in  sentences,  57, 113-115. 
"  Only,"  position  of,  118. 
Onomatopoeia,  186. 
Outlining,  importance  of,  24,  40,  41. 

in  description,  20,  25-29. 

narration,  90-93. 

in  exposition,  207,  208. 

in  argument,  210-214. 

Paragraphs,  defined,  37. 

general  treatment,  37-51, 121-142. 

contents  of,  121-142. 

topics  of,  37. 
Parentheses,  235. 
Participles,  position  of,  118. 
Paul  Revere's  Ride  outlined,  99. 
Periods,  uses  of,  232. 
Periodic  sentences,  154. 
Perry's  Victory,  106. 
Personification,  183,  184. 
Phrases,  76-78. 
Plan,  importance,  in  composition,  18. 

in  description,  24,  25. 
Plot  in  narratives,  102,  103. 
Poems  for  outlining,  100. 
Point  of  view  in  description,  60-62. 
Position,  for  emphasis  in  sentences, 
149. 

of  modifiers,  117-120,  197. 
Possessive  case,  use  of,  193. 

punctuation  of,  239. 
Precision  in  use  of  words,  188-191, 199- 

203. 
Prefixes,  227 


• 


INDEX 


269 


Pronouns,  obscure  in  sentences,  115. 

agreement  with  antecedents,  194. 

relatives,  use  of,  86,  189-191. 
Proofs,  kinds  of,  211,  212. 

strength  of,  211. 
Punctuation,  23,  232-240. 

Question  mark,  233. 
Quotation  marks,  uses  of,  236. 

Reasons  or  causes  in  paragraphs,  134. 

Redundancy,  156. 

Refutation,  210. 

Relative  pronouns,  use  of,  86. 

restrictive  and  coordinate,  189-191. 

preceded  by  conjunctions,  192. 
Repetition,  156,  157. 
Rests  in  verse,  250. 
Rhyme,  244. 

Rip  Van  Winkle  outlined,  92. 
Run-on  lines  in  verse,  252. 

Salutations  in  letters,  164. 

Saxon  element  in  English,  221,  225. 

Scale  in  description,  61. 

Scanning,  248,  254. 

Scott,  a  walk  with,  124. 

Selection  in  composition,  18,  20. 

Semicolon,  uses  of,  237,  238. 

Sense  impressions  in  description,  65- 

72. 
Sentences,  grammatical  kinds,  78-88. 

balanced,  151,  152. 

loose,  154. 

periodic,  154. 

inverted,  149, 150. 
Setting  or  scene  in  narration,  102. 
Shakspere,  life  of,  93. 
"Shall"  and  " will,"  189, 191. 
Simile,  177-181. 
Simple  sentences,  78,  83. 
Smoothness  in  paragraphs,  121. 


Specific  words,  158, 159. 

Spelling,  rules  for,  241-243. 

Spenserian  stanza,  256. 

Sphinx,  the,  104. 

Stanza  forms,  245. 

Style,  as  affected  by  derivation,  230, 

231. 

in  narration,  102. 
Suffixes,  228. 

Suggestion  in  words,  203-205. 
Superscription  of  a  letter,  167-lfi9. 
Suspended  or  periodic  sentences,  154, 

155. 

Synecdoche,  185. 
Synonyms,  199-201. 
Syntax,  correctness  in,  57, 113, 192-198. 

"  That,"  use  of,  190. 
Titles  in  letters,  167,  168. 
Topic  sentences,  43. 
Topics  of  paragraphs,  37. 
Transformation,  of  elements,  77,  83. 

of  sentences,  80-(JO. 
Trochaic  feet,  247. 
Trochaic  movement,  248. 

Underscoring,  240. 
Unity,  in  compositions,  18. 

in  paragraphs,  40. 

in  sentences,  53-59, 112. 
Use  of  words,  accurate,  188-191. 

suggestive,  203-205. 

Verbs,  grammar  of,  195,  196. 
Verses  and  verse  making,  244-258. 

"Which  "habit,  116. 

"Will "and  "shall, "189,  191. 

Word  coinage,  229. 

Word  formation,  227-229. 

Words,  sources  of  English,  221-225. 


TYPOGRAPHY   BY  J.    S.   GUSHING  &   CO.,   NORWOOD,   MASS. 


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WEBSTER'S  COMMON  SCHOOL  DICTIONARY       .        .        .     $0.72 
Containing    over    25,000    words    and    meanings,    with    over    500 
illustrations. 

WEBSTER'S  HIGH  SCHOOL  DICTIONARY      ....     $0.98 

Containing  about  37,000  words  and  definitions,  and  an  appendix 

giving  a  pronouncing  vocabulary  of   Biblical,  Classical,   Mythological, 

Historical,  and  Geographical  proper  names,  with  over  800  illustrations. 

WEBSTER'S  ACADEMIC  DICTIONARY.     Cloth,  $1.50;  Indexed,  $1.80 

The  Same  .         .         .         .    Half  Calf,  $2.75  ;  Indexed,  $3.00 

Abridged  directly  from  the  International  Dictionary,  and  giving  the 

orthography,   pronunciations,   definitions,   and   synonyms   of   the    large 

vocabulary   of   words   in    common    use,   with   an   appendix   containing 

various  useful  tables,  with  over  800  illustrations. 

SPECIAL  EDITIONS 

Webster's  Count! nghouse  Dictionary    .         .  Sheep,  Indexed,  $2.40 

Webster's  Condensed  Dictionary     .     Cloth,  $1.44;  Indexed,     1  75 

The  Same      .         .         .          Half  Calf,  $2.75 ;  Indexed,     3.00 

Webster's  Handy  Dictionary 15 

Webster's  Pocket  Dictionary.     Cloth  .         .         .         .         .         .57 

The  Same.     Roan  Flexible  .         .         .         .         .         .         .69 

The  Same.     Roan  Tucks      ......         .78 

The  Same.     Morocco,  Indexed     .....         .90 

Webster's  American  People's  Dictionary  and  Manual    .         .         .48 
Webster's  Practical  Dictionary 80 


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address  on  receipt  of  the  price  by  the  Publishers  : 

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